Working Behind the Scenes
by Le-Herpington
Summary: Hi. My name is... not important at the moment. I kinda woke up on Remnant instead of the library after a heavy study night. I also woke up in Atlas, not Vale. I'll try to work behind the scenes to prepare for Volume Three. In Remnant, I feel my duty to save those who can't. There's a problem though: The timeline seems unstable.
1. Chapter 0: Intro and Awakening

**Hello all those who clicked the link. No worries, the chapters will be longer than this. Call it a prologue for what's to come. Spoilers for all three volumes, you know, like half the Fanfictions on this site. Just a warning in case. Anyway…**

 **I've always wanted to contribute to the RWBY community, and now I plan to do something fun with this story. Chapters have no real release date, not until the college schedule sets in. Have fun.**

 **Also, I do not own RWBY, or any of its plot elements. Only the single OC that is present at the moment, Cinnabar.**

To say I want to throw up is bad enough. My entire stomach feels like it's digesting itself, my body shaking in exhaustion. Nevertheless, here I am, on the ground. Not sure how I got here, but whatever. The beginning to any adventure starts like this. Some major mystery comes up, and a party investigates/quests/solves or whatever verb they may perform. You know, like the ring, or...

I'm getting off topic.

My name is Alexander. Was anyway.

Well, that's not that important. Not anymore. I woke up in another universe. How does our dashing hero know this you may ask? An Atlesian Knight just walked past me, along with a small kid with rabbit ears. He was getting beaten up by some bullies, but I was in no shape to help. I can barely move on my own, thanks. Speaking of which, why does it feel so cold and heavy?

Oh. That's why. I'm in light armor, and B-Cups. Laying in the two inch snow around me.

Wait.

B-Cups, why am I sporting a… this is not good. This can't be happening. I'm a girl? I'm not a girl, I never was! On Earth I was a nineteen-year-old MALE college student, how am I a girl?

Ok. Ok. Crisis later, help now. Where in Vale am I? Nowhere, not if there's Knights running around. Atlas is my best guess. A place that we were never shown, and seldom talked about. Great. Canon RWBY, you helped me so much.

Well, no idea how I got here, but I can't go home. Might as well make friends. Let's start with becoming a hunter… huntress.

I'll have to get used to that.


	2. Chapter 1: The Hugs and Painkillers

**First chapter, all right! Let's go for it. As usual:**

 **I do not own RWBY, or any of it's plot elements. The only thing I own is my OC.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Cold is a Good Painkiller. So are Hugs.

The ground is comfortable. Very comfortable. So is the snow, so whatever clothing I'm wearing is waterproof. That's cool. Waking up felt like it was an hour ago, but it's been…

I glance at my wrist, only to realize I didn't keep my watch when I got dropped here, with the whole… new body thing. I'm in a plaza. Not the center of attention, so my luck seems to be holding out across universal boundaries. Keeping my origins a secret from most people is probably for the better, but I need an identity here. Turning my head more as I prop myself up on my knees, I find a medium-sized clock tower just in sight.

"An hour and ten minutes. Hopefully minutes. Well, my internal clock isn't far off. What's more curious is that everyone is speaking English." My voice is higher, which I expected, but it still feels weird to know I'm the speaker. "Or is my brain translating it in real-time like an Omni-tool. Did I learn Atlesian when I was transported over here? What's the common language between the kingdoms?" I stop to slap my face a few times. "Getting off track again, focus. And cut the cliches, I mean, the face slap?"

I sigh, and stand up. Looking at my surroundings, the kingdom of Atlas seems very futuristic, yet premodern at the same time. There were a few skyscrapers in the distance, but most buildings were over five stories tall. It looked like a mix of Russian and German architecture. Oh, don't forget the CCT Tower, shining at the top of the largest building, Atlas Academy itself.

The Academy was taller than any building around it, probable nearing sixty stories. How they built it, I'm not really sure. Lots of the tilt-jets maybe? It reminded me of the Empire State, if the pyramidal top was a massive radio tower, with wires spanning out to multiple smaller towers on top of nearby roofs of apartments and offices. It shined silver with an orangish-red glow, the sun setting behind it.

"Deal with your curiosities at another time. If I'm in Atlas, I need to find the General. He _is_ the headmaster and I need to become a Huntress to meet RWBY, too old to be a student. My goal is to stop some of Volume Three happening. I may not be able to fully stop the invasion, but to hell if I can't reprogram the robots. I'm double majoring in Software/Mechanical Engineering, it can't be that hard."

Why am I doing this? Honestly, there's probably no way back to Earth. I don't even know how I got here. So, instead, I'll spend my time helping who I can, go on an adventure. If I'm stuck like a self insert, do what the inserts do. Pushing my weakened body to its limits, I stumble in a random direction. I should probably find a mirror, see what this girl's body looks like. What I look like. This'll be fun.

Oh god, my biology is different. That means I… I need help with… ahem… feminine hygiene.

Fun indeed.

* * *

While walking there were two different thoughts swimming around. First, I need an identity. A name and style, weapons, my aura and semblance. As I look down to inspect my plated long-sleeve dress shirt, I notice two bars on my wrists, parallel to my arms.

"Are those handles?" I asked myself.

I grip onto one and pull, revealing a small dagger. About seven inches in length, and one in width, both sides smooth but sharp. A single pitch black line ran through the center of the shining silver blade. The line met the hilt, which took the same deep black color. On my other wrist, the handle of the second now-dagger was white. I'd assume the second blade follows the unsheathed daggers look. Both had gemstones on the bottom of the hilt, corresponding to the colors of the hilts. While solid black or white, these were not ordinary gems. They were pinfire opals. Rare gems, black and white, but with specks of rainbow colors.

"Oh, these will do. How did… no Alex, don't question it. You have weapons and probably an aura. Accept that whatever got you here did this and be fine with it. Just move on." I mutter.

I just re-sheathed the dagger and inspected the holders. Now that I look closer, they seem to be incomplete.

"They're not guns!" I shouted, my revelation drawing looks of concern from the passers-by like it should. The sheaths had a button on them. The _sheaths_ had a _hidden_ _button_ , another form.

"Oooohh, and a secret. Let's see what it is!" Again, I show no recognition of concerned looks shooting my way. Instead, I press the button. The sheath starts to unfold, and comes out to form a small shield attached to my wrist. It was a small curved rectangle, nothing too special. It held a reddish-black hue to it. Reminded me of Ruby to be honest, but seemed darker than her red. I reminded me of my hair, which was dangling in front of my head, quite annoyingly I might add.

"Wait, stop digressing again. I need to find a mirror." Collapsing the shield, I move on with my next step. A name, and a mirror. The universe gifted me with many things, but a high attention span was not one of them.

A voice from behind me. "Are you okay ma'am? You seem disoriented and in a state of confusion." A familiar voice.

Wait Ma'am? Who's she calling… oh, yeah. Me.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. Just tired, that's all. You?" I answer, turning around to find Penny, our excitable ginger robot. She has no escort, that means pre-docks. Awesome, Vol. 1 hasn't finished, slowly finding where in the timeline I was dumped. Something feels weird about her though, almost like I ca-

"I am fantastic, thank you for asking. I must inquire, why did you not answer the first time I asked you?" Wow. She tilted her head to the left as she said that. That was adorable. It also seems our cliches are holding out so far.

Hold on, that wasn't the first time she asked me?

"Just not attentive to begin with, and being somewhat tired doesn't help." I chuckle, nodding to the setting sun.

"So it doesn't." She pauses. "What is your name?"

Name, uh.. well seeing as my hair is a dark red, and my name has to be color related…

"Cinnabar. My name is Cinnabar Ferrous. What may I call you my friend?" I respond politely, even bowing for respect. Wait, did I just call her my friend? That mea-

"Friend, do you really mean it?" The android begs, leaning forward. Her eyes had stars in them, super shiny and everything. How did she do that? Is this what Ruby's puppy dog eyes are like? I'll never hold up if we, no, when we meet.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. You seem cool and all, so why not, right?" I reply, sealing my fate.

"Wonderful!" She squeals, grappling me into the deadly 2400N full-body hug. I shimmer a dark-red before she drops me completely, ranting about how much fun we'll have. Meanwhile, I proceed to crumple to the ground in pain. That answers my question about aura, but raises another one. How was it unlocked already? I have weapons and an aura, probably a semblance.

Oh well, discoveries later, fixing Volume Three right now. I need a team, or a partner. Might as well utilize the walking supercomputer next to me.

"Hey P-"

Shit stop! That was close, I'm not supposed to know her name yet. "I was wondering, friend, what your name is." Better, but call off the polite, you'll scare her.

"My name is Penny Polendina."

"Well, nice to meet you Penny." I say, reaching out for a handshake. She grips my hand, and nearly crushes it in one movement. "Ow."

"Oh, sorry, I was told I need to watch my strength." No really, what is she made out of?

"Well Penny, I have a request that is, weird, to say the least." Time to put my plan into motion. Right after I find a mirror.

* * *

I did find a mirror eventually. I look about twenty-one years old, semi-mature with an adorable pout. Great. I'm about 5'10", glad there's not much of a height change. My hair goes to my waist, no recognizable styling, just let loose and brushed, with the reddish-black locks framing my face. My eyes are the most curious part, a deep magenta-red. **(AN: RGB 115, 10, 10.)** They're paired with a lean-athletic body, like a track runner, and lower-scale 'assets' than previously thought, around the lower B-Cup area.

My clothing was a bit dull, but it seemed to fit with how I look.

A long-sleeved dress shirt, dark grey in hue, with a red **(AN: RGB 140, 0, 0.)** tie and highlights down the sleeves and around the cuffs. The highlights also followed the middle of the sides. I even had cufflinks. They were red jagged lines, like lightning, what I'd assume is my symbol. The shirt was tucked into lighter grey dress pants, with the dark red lines following the sides down the seams, similar to the shirt. The belt holding them up was a dull white in color. My shoes were, of all things, Converse-styled, a similar white with red laces. I did have a red undershirt on, and, thank whatever god(s) are here, a black sports bra.

After rediscovering myself, we spent the next hour walking to Atlas Academy. Apparently the school year starts in a few months. That's how early I am. I need to talk to Ironwood about as much as I can. He's honestly one of the few I think I can trust with knowledge of most of the future, other than Team RWBY and maybe Winter. Eventually. My plan for everything follows as…

Actually, I need to wait as long as I can to do anything. Most of Vol. Three can be circumvented by slight warnings and manipulation behind the scenes. I can also have Ironwood bring me to Vale early, join him when he visits O-

"We're here Cinnabar. Why did you need to see the Headmaster?" Penny says outloud.

I seem to get interrupted mid-thought often. And mid-exposition.

"Penny, please call me Cinn. Think of it as a nickname, something between close friends." Manipulating Penny is actually emotionally hurting me. Come on Cinn/Alex, it's for her own good, so she'll live through the tournament. "The reason is that I need to report to him some findings of mine." Not a bold-faced lie, but I did imply I know him personally. Hopefully her lie detectors don't go off.

"He's a very nice person isn't he? I enjoy his company so much." She accents the end of that sentence with a hiccup, and covers her mouth. Damn, she lied. Didn't think she'd have it in her to dis the general, you go girl.

"Pen, you don't need to lie, he may not be the most caring person, but he does what he can for everyone's safety. I respect him very much." I say, walking into the building. I look at the main area for students. It's actually small. Infact, Atlas Academy reminds me more of a community than a school meant to teach kids how to kill the most dangerous of Grimm. A vertical community, made up of sixty floors of Teaching rooms, storage, student dorms, and other surprises.

"Well, I'm excited to see Vale. I'll get to go for the tournament." Penny responds, obviously trying to change topics.

"I think you'll love it. First, why don't you find more friends, that way you may know someone on your team once initiation starts. I think that would help you a l-"

"Hello Ma'am, may I ask why you're here?" The secretary interrupts.

Moving on I guess.

"Sorry Pen, another time. See you later." I hug her, and smile. We'd actually grown close over the walk across the city, and however much it may hurt, I'm happy we became friends. Also, I need to play up the girl in my persona. I'm still getting used to having breasts, but the shock is wearing off. After the hug ends, she runs away, presumably to the dorms, which are a separate building across campus.

"I need to speak to Ironwood. It's urgent."

The secretary sighs, and picks up a date book. "When would you like to make that appointment."

"No, I need to see him now. Buzz him if you need to, I can prove it by talking to him. Classified info, you know the drill."

The secretary sighs again, before calling him up on her mounted scroll-puter thing. I need scroll don't I. "General Ironwood, a woman who is down here claims they need to tell you something important. She said it's about classified info." She pauses for a moment, before looking at me. "Young, twenties, dark red hair. No?"

"Tell him it is regarding his copper coin. She was wandering unguarded." Here's to hoping pennies exist here.

"Sir, she claims it has something to do with an unguarded coin?" She says back into the microphone, before looking back at me. "What kind of coin?"

"A Penny, Ma'am."


	3. Chapter 2: Semantics

**Hope that first chapter is good. Honestly, I'm binge writing as much as I can right now, but it will only be a few chapters. My goal is to update every Tuesday, as I have a few hours off of classes during that time.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, or any characters associated to it. Only my OC, Cinnabar.**

 **If I did own RWBY, Ozpin would be at Weiss' mother. Yes. Mother.**

* * *

Chapter 2: French is not real, and neither am I.

The inside of Atlas Academy itself is actually similar to a train station, but with bullhead pads all around. It's also very, very tall, the first few floors actually decoration on the outside, with a large vaulted roof inside. While not much to the average city-living…

Earthican?

Terran?

Earther?

No Terran sounds cooler. Anyway. While not much to the average city-living Terran, it beats most other buildings in Remnant by twenty stories. Even more impressive is the elevator system. I have no clue how it works, but it works faster than any elevator I've been in. Fire Dust thrusters, or maybe electrical dust is more controllable than our circus back home. The top must be extremely aerodynamic then, like a pin, or…

Ah, I see shock has finally weared off, the nerdy engineer cracking out of her shell. I am officially self-aware now. This is good, I need to clear my mind.

I continue to rant inside my head for another minute before the elevator reaches it's destination. Talking calms me down, and having a meeting with a cyborg that could potentially end me with two words scares the hell out of me.

With a nice ding, in harmony, my arrival is announced. The doors open, and I glance around Ironwood's office. Wow, he's actually a normal person. His office is pure white, and looks very futuristic, the curvy one-piece chairs and everything. Reminds me of Director Fargo's office from Eureka. There, in the middle of the office, stands Ironwood, full uniform, hands behind his back.

I step out of the elevator, and walk towards him. "Love that elevator, so fast compared to home." I remark. That made him growl, not good. I did not diffuse the tension did I.

"Who are you, and how do you know about Penny?"

"Well, General, I want to be honest to you. Sadly, you wouldn't believe me in the slightest. Do you have a way to detect a lie by any chance, to prove I'm honest?"

He taps a button on his wrist, and speaks something into it. Sadly, it was too quiet to hear.

"Sit, then. We have a lie detector coming up shortly. Until then, what's your name."

"My name is Cinnabar Ferrous. You won't find me in any database though, that ties into what I have to say."

"Ferrous huh?" Did the general say 'huh'? Well, time to go for broke. "I was born outside the kingdoms, chose it myself. You already have the copper girl, is iron lesser or something?"

"Iron, what does that have to do with any of this?" Crap they don't have Latin dumbass ferrous means nothing to them.

"Touche" Idiot French isn't real either.

"Tu-what?" Luckily, that question would never be processed, as the harmony of the elevator chimed out once again, signalling the lie detectors arrival. I wonder who brought it up, probably some minor soldier tha-

As the door opens, my train of thought stopped. It was Winter Schnee. Holy. Shit. The hair looks awesome, a stunning white, not dull or even a cream, but pure, shining, white. Shimmering even. Her sword is strapped to her side, and her uniform is the same as the one in her fight with Qrow. She looks beauti-fuck. Don't start crushing on a Schnee, let alone Winter.

She wheels in the machine on a large table, which is plastic from the looks. On the table, the machine reminded me of a lie-detector from TV, with a video screen instead of paper and pencil. As she hands the reigns to the General, who had gotten up from his desk, she glared at me.

"Who is this?" She asks. That glare is enough to kill a lesser person.

I flinch back, and raise my hand to shield my face, while using the other to cover my crotch, turning my head away, and lifting one foot, going into a pose dubbed 'The Morgan'.

"I am not a Branwen, please, don't let the grey fool you." I squeak out.

Both military officials just stare at me. I now realize how weird that must have looked to have a twenty-one year old woman do that. Resuming my original position, I clear my throat. "Again, not related to Qrow, or Raven. In any form. What-so-ever."

"Why would I think that?" Winter asks, turning to me fully now. She seems a little too curious. Not as disciplined. Something must have happened before Volume Three. Let's see if I can change that.

"Don't you two have a past?" I respond. Not my brightest moment.

She unexpectedly lunges at me, sword thirsting for my blood, but something kicks in the back of my head and I raise my arms in defense. Both of the sheaths on my wrists unfold into their shields, knocking the icy hot-head's sword to the side. I also staggered back, but that's not important. Before anything goes further, Ironwood intervenes.

"Please do not hurt the woman who knows your, and Atlas' secrets. And you," he says, looking at me now, "Don't provoke a specialist. The can and will kill you for it. I would allow it."

"You bet your cyborg abs I won't." I let slip out, before throwing my hands up to cover my mouth. Crap, more knowledge I shouldn't know. The shock crosses his face, but he simply motions to the lie detector. Winter starts to leave, but before she can, I ask one small favor.

"General, if I may, one last thing. I need Specialist Schnee to stay for this, it involves her and… Weiss too. Heavily I might add."

Winter's glare seemed to intensify when I mention her sister. If that's even possible.

"Miss Schnee, if you could stay, please." Ironwood asks, as he hooks me up to the machine. A finger meter there, a sticky pad there, couple things on my face, an aura detector for soul reading.

"Yes Sir." She sighs. Wow, now I feel bad. She must hate to talk about it.

"I'm sorry if I brought something up you dislike, my knowledge of the past is… vague, at best." I add, hoping to resolve things.

"I just wish you wouldn't mention it again, so if at all possible..."

"I'll keep details about him as limited as possible. Got it."

"Thank you." She says back. I can hear the reluctance, but it's nice she's making efforts to patch things up. Afterall, I'll no doubt end up working with her, she is involved with Weiss.

"No problem." Although, many probably don't see this side of her. I'm lucky.

"You're all patched up, so start talking. Begin with one truth, and one lie, in that order." Ironwood interrupts.

"You got it friend-o-rino." I wince after that sentence. "Truth: I regret saying that word fully and utterly. Lie: I will still, no-doubt, say it again."

"Both of those came off as truths, try a lie, madame." Ironwood retorts, as if this were an argument. Wait, we've been saying ma'am and madame, how, there's no French in… screw it whatever.

"Try this again. Lie: I personally know every Schnee in existence." I say, looking at Winter.

"Thank you Cinnabar." He pauses. "Now, how do you know about Project P.E.N.N.Y.?"

"General, before I answer, I need to ask you something. Do you know what String Theory is?"

* * *

After an explanation of the multi-verse and the possibilities on how and why they exist, I told them how I know all of this. Simply put, somewhere, out there, is a fictional work that coincidentally is about a fictional character, that just so happens, to perfectly be about your life and everything you have experienced. They took it better than I thought honestly. Next, I explain to them the show RWBY, and how it follows a team at Beacon, consisting of their leader Ruby Rose, the fifteen year old prodigy and silver-eyed warrior, Weiss Schnee, the SDC Heiress and future… something, Blake Belladonna, the faunus in hiding due to a dark past, and Yang Xaio Long, the daughter of the 'Nevermore' herself.

Seriously, they nicknamed Raven? After a Grimm? How deadly and uncaring is she?

I then fill them in about Volume One, and some of Volume Two. I left out the Paladin, because Team RWBY needs to meet Neo. Next, was to explain the Breach. This is the part I hate to withhold information from, but I need to do it.

"The end of Volume Two, I'm sorry, but it has to happen. It's too important chronologically to stop."

"What do you mean?" asks Ironwood. "How exactly is it important?"

"Team RWBY goes on a mission they aren't technically allowed on. This is due to a rule bend by Ozpin. He thinks they would take it up anyway, so instead of having Team RWBY break any rules, he bends them for the girls. They handle it fine, but discover a massive plot to destroy a part of Vale." Vague enough to not be caught in a lie, still specific enough to get help.

"Short story short, the plot semi-succeeds, and Vale is breached by Grimm. However, you, General, were given authority to bring a fleet with you as security for the Vytal Festival. Apparently, the Council of Vale dislikes Oz a lot. Your airships, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY manage to hold the line, and Glynda uses her semblance to seal up the breach." Ironwood has a stern look on his face, so I drop the bomb.

"Without this happening, The Breach would have happened a few days later, under orders of The Queen, and yes, she is masquerading at Beacon as a student from Haven, along with a two girls with an illusion semblances, and the son of Marcus Black, Mercury. The Breach would be worse, your security hacked, and panic spreading throughout Vale." Now he showed his emotions, anger and hate seething from his body.

"This point on is where I need to address Ms. Schnee alone. From here on out, you are too involved, and knowing anything could change time too much, making it impossible to prepare for the future." He doesn't seem to move, so I try something else. "Please, James, please." I say, raising up my hands. Honestly, I need this to happen. "This is to save lives. Especially Penny's. She gets bisected in the Tournament by Niko's Polarity. You can't know the future." I played that card. Feel no regret for it. Best part is, it seems to have worked. Ironwood was leaving the room.

"If she tries anything, anything, you silence her, understand Winter?" He says.

"Rude." I remark.

"Understood, Sir."

With that, he entered the elevator, and left the room to the two of us ladies. Feels less weird to say that now. Really am used to that, aren't I. Only been a few hours too.

"I know you want to know things about your sister, don't hold back. You do appear in the show, Most recent Volume, and seem very caring. Ice Queen is not a nickname you deserve. You seem very… unstern, so drop the act." I tell her.

Like the drop of a hat, her entire stance changes. It was actually kind of weird, how unprofessional she seems now, just lounging on one of the chairs, back slumped, face drooping tiredly. Probably processing all the information I just dropped. I can relate. When she doesn't say anything, I just continue.

"Well, first, I guess that Weiss was mad she wasn't leader of her team, but the girl two years her junior, her partner, was. After a fight and a discussion, they make up, and become very close. By the end of Volume Three, her personality is so open and teenage-like instead of, well, Schnee-like. Banter with teammates, hugs and tears, even the occasional pun. They're not good. Oh, and the food fight. But all four girls, their closer than family, even though one was a Schnee Heiress with a hatred for the White Fang and Faunus in general, and the other an ex-terrorist catgirl who feels guilty, and is trying to atone for her actions by giving all the intel she can to Ozpin. We were lucky those two didn't partner up, that would have been a nightmare."

Winter laughed at that, so I know I'm getting somewhere. It's a very nice laugh, I'm happy to have actually heard it. She also didn't shrink at the mention of faunus, so hopefully that means she is accepting of them.

"Honestly, her and Yang are on my priority list."

Her face shifts to concern, and she asks me a question. "Why?"

"It rides on Weiss that, after the end of the tournament, the team stays together, while Yang needs to learn not to rush in. If she doesn't lose her arm in a fight with the Adam Taurus of the White Fang, Blake never leaves, and it's possible Team RWBY won't split." I pause for a moment, thinking how to put the next sentence a delicately as possible. "I can't stop Vale falling, burning, while the Grimm invade, or, most likely, Penny dieing. I can't, and it hurts becoming her friend even though _I know_ what's going to happen. But I'll make sure as many students survive as possible. It's… It's my duty. It's all I have left. I have no way home, and no history here, but if I can at least help save one life, that's enough to change our future. It gets so much worse after that."

See seems to agree. I'll have to thank her later.

"I also think I have a way to keep minimal communications when the CCT falls. Yes, when, because it is inevitable. I need you to do something else. Start a project that Ironwood knows nothing about, at the SDC if you have to. This needs no paper trail, no one can know about it. It's a sensor that can sense and translate certain wavelengths of light, and an emitter of said light. Then, a code-like system of dots and dashes to relay short messages. That could be really helpful in the long run, as Vale's CCT falls, ripping the network apart. It also can't be networked by the same system, or the virus vill get through. We need to make it a separate, secret, communication system."

"I'll make sure R&D get on that, father…" Oh she struggled with that word. "would love that. With the correct amount of Dust it shouldn't take too long." She responds. She actually seems curious about this. Winter Schnee is a very different person than I expected. It's refreshing, after talking to Penny for so long and predicting what she'll say.

"And Winter," I begin, gesturing to my knives, "I'm not going to lie, I can't fight. I have no knowledge, and my luck was what let me block you earlier. I want to learn though, and was hoping you could train me. I also have no doubt that, with some of your help, I'd become a Specialist for the military, maybe even your partner. I am completely fine with that, and if you help me train, I'll join you when you visit during the tournament, and protect _her_ from harm. Knowledge of the future is a powerful thing, and I need your help with the plans for saving everyone we can. Are you up for it?" I ask, holding my fist out, hoping to get a nice bump.

In the least Schnee thing I have ever seen a Schnee do, Winter stands up, looks at me, and proceeds to fistbump me. Yes, young one, let the cool flow through you.

"Yes I will. We also begin training immediately, I'll warn the General." She tells me, pulling out her scroll.

"Thanks. Oh, and one last thing. Call me Cinn, my name is a little long."


	4. Chapter 3: A Mental Breakdown and Crush

**Chapter Three everybody, big round of applause. Currently 12:45 AM, and writing strong. Go Labor Day Weekend! I do want to mention that I will switch PoV every now and then, i.e. End of Volume One. It makes it a little easier to imply background happenings and such.**

 **Usual Disclaimer: I Don't Own RWBY. At All. Only Cinnabar.**

 **If I did own RWBY, Glynda would wear fairy wings.**

* * *

Chapter 3: AaaaaaahhhhhHHH Freak Out! (Copyright Chic).

It's been about five minutes since Winter left.

Now, I'm alone with my thoughts, and the massive internal battle I've been heavily suppressing for the last few hours. The usual. Penny provided a nice distraction, but now that it was past, my entire body was fighting itself. First thing first…

I'm a woman. I don't know how that happened, truly, but I can honestly say, I am now freaking out. This isn't my body right? Is it? Why was I put into a two-year-older woman, what was so important for that to happen? Who even did this, and how was it accomplished?

I continue to rant questions like this for a fifteen minutes, pacing back and forth, while one thought crosses my mind frequently. In retrospect, I should've dismissed it, or addressed it head on, I kept pushing it away, and it kept coming back just the same.

Mainly, who's to say _I_ was ever Alex anyway? What if this is someone else's body, someone else's life, that my memories were somehow implanted into. They happened to be a huntress or something, and passed out in the plaza, only for their consciousness to be erased. What if the multi-verse somehow copied Alex's brain pattern, and 'accidentally' shifted mine to mirror it? Some warped self-preservation by the world around me? That thought, just, it destroyed everything I thought I knew until now… How would you react, if all evidence pointed to you being a false entity, no matter how much you hated it. That thought…

 **What if I'm fake?**

It plagued me to no end. Anytime I would push it away, it would always come back.

I could be false.

Not real.

Some copy of a kid who is in another universe, or light-years away, in some other place, who knows nothing about what's going.

I mean, I woke up in a fictional world, and accepted it fully. Part of that was definitely my new body. Losing the one thing that conn-*DING*-ected me to Earth, other than my memories, it separated the two worlds. Sure, I'm an open person, and eventually I'll adjust being a woman. Here, I'm Cinn, there I was Alex.

Was I Alex?

Rrrrgg.

There it is again, worming itself back into my train of thought.

"Hey, Cinn…"

The one thing I could never live with, the one thing that could destroy me: I'm fake, some false being. Not like Penny, not an android.

I mean, I never should've existed. I had no spot in the universe. No 'Red String of Fate'. No predestined plan. Nothing. I. Am. Nothing.

Just… some anomaly in the base code of reality. A footnote in creation.

For now, I only know one thing for sure, and that's that I was given a chance to save lives. Whoever I was, I was given an Aura, a Semblance, and the shield/dagger combo weapons. I'll do what I must, but I'll leave killing to the others. Unless I have to kill, I don't think my mind could handle taking another life right now. My mind? Alex's mind. God know's what my mind is like. Was like.

Hey, there it is again.

"GODDAMMMIT!" I scream, punching the nearest thing. Papers, all over Ironwood's desk, fly off, fluttering in the air.

A few are still on his desk, but most are strewn across the floor haphazardly. They're slightly wet, looks like it's raining.

Bringing my hand up to my face, I learn it's wet too. And it can't rain indoors stupid. I'm crying.

"Is this really what I am now? Some false memory, some virus in the code meant to be deleted?" I wheeze out, staring at my own hands. They're shaking pretty hard, and, is that red? "SO, AM I? AM I SOME FALSE COPY OF THE REAL THING, SOME FAKE THROWN ACROSS THE BOUNDARY ACROSS WORLDS? AM I REAL? DOES MY LIFE EVEN EXIST? TELL ME!" I punch the desk again.

…

…

Silence.

I punch the desk more, but I assume the metal is enough for multiple aura infused Yang-style right hooks.

"TELL ME!" I choke through the tears. I can feel my legs are weak, my face red, my hand in pain. I can't even hold myself up anymore.

The world tilts, and I feel my entire body spike in agony. I smell smoke, burning something.

More silence, other than the choking sobs of… whoever I am. I remember Mom, Dad, Thanksgiving dinner with the family. The turkey was black because we used a little too much heat, set it on fire. And sure, I was the middle child, and my house was filled with estrogen with my two sisters, but it was home. Then what we called 'The Goodbye', me and my older sister moving across the country to go to our colleges. How could I not? But was that me? Was Alex truly me, or do I just remember his memories. Who am _I_?

I'm on the ground now, sobbing. I lost my whole identity, my whole self, all because this one thought. And yet, it keeps coming back. It's worse than any torture I can think of, my entire self image was ripped from anything I thought, and everything I was.

"Please… please. Just tell me. Who am I?" At this point, the words come out hoarse and quiet. Barely above a whisper.

More silence.

"Why do you hate me? What did I do to deserve this? Who would ever deserve this, this loss of everything. My home, my world, my friends, my family, my purpose."

Turning my head, I could see something white through my tears. Is it the papers? I try to sit up, but I'm still shaking too bad, and my arms give out. I proceed to slam into the ground with heavy force.

"What happened, Cinn, listen to me. What happened?" That voice, it's calming me. It definitely wasn't mine, but it seemed to make me focus more. I like it. It's….

Nice...

Now something is reaching… out to me? I wrap myself around it, and cling to them, like my life is on the line. Honestly, my sanity is, so it's not too far off. I squish my head into the form, and fell the next wave of tears push out. I'm tired. I feel drained… so drained. I'll… maybe that'll…

* * *

What's going on? I'm being petted. That's how I wake up, my hair getting stroked? Man, it's getting long, I need to cut it. Memories are a little hazy, but classes are soon and I really need to get up. My roommate is, eccentric, so being petted is not exactly a new thing, but still...

"Hey, stop weirdo, when you sleep do I pe-. Oh." The face I see is not Bradly, that is…

Winter Schnee. What the hell?

Yesterday's memories came flooding back. Atlas, Penny, new name, new self, Winter, and my full breakdown. Speaking of that, what happened? Who found me, if she's here that meant…

Oh, it was Winter. She saw my broken state. Just… great.

"So..." I begin. Awkwardly I might add. "How much of that did you see?"

"I walked in when you were still pacing. At first, you seemed bored, but punching the desk while screaming, that's a new one. Then you, began crying and, I, Oum. I just felt bad. I was about to calm you down, and you began ranting more and more, and then you just hit the ground. I tried to pick you up, but you clung to me, whispering about anomalies. What were you talking about?"

"I…" don't want to talk about it. You need to, you need someone to trust. She already knows, she's concerned for you. But… I-. NO. TALK OR YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO TELL ANYONE.

"I think that, unless I find how I got here, I might not… exist? Not the right word. Okay, so, your brain, inside, has the little connections between the molecules, and then those are connected, and so on until they make up the Synapses. These are then connected to your Neurons, which built bridges between each other. Each brain is different however, no two are exactly alike."

She nods, so basic brain science must be present here in Remnant.

"I believe that, unless we find how my consciousness was transferred across the universal barrier, and that they made my body… that means whoever this body must have originally belonged to, their brain was rewritten with a copy of Alex's brain from Earth, not replaced with his actual brain. Data is easier to transfer than the physical copy. It explains why I woke up on the ground. Anyway, I was fine unt-"

"Stop." Winter interrupts. "You were not fine when I got there, you were…

* * *

 _Winter had just informed Ironwood of what Cinnabar's plan was. Train under Winter, hopefully reach a respectable level by the time the first semester is over, and once the tournament is here, be able to work on the front lines with the rest of them._

 _He was not happy to hear this._

 _Winter pushed for it, and under a grumbling acceptance, Ironwood relented. Winter was to put Cinnabar through her toughest regiment possible, and make sure that she was ready for anything. He had already named her a specialist, although she would be a secret until she was done training. That meant she got full pay, and would, of course, bunk at Winter's apartment for the time being._

 _Not that Winter was given a choice. She agreed, out of concern for well-being. She wasn't sure yet, Ironwood was right in not having her stay at the school, but it felt like a protective instinct for the twenty-one year old woman instead of the seventeen year old students. She then dismissed that thought, not wanting to see where it lead._

 _Next, she went back to the elevator. It was weird, because despite what Cinn had said, she was in shape, seemed to have the proper Aura control level, and subconsciously had weapon training, as shown in the 'lucky' block. All of it, in the back of her mind. No doubt she had a semblance, waiting to be discovered._

 _Her thoughts cutoff as the door to Ironwood's office opened, the resulting ding notifying Cinn to her appearance._

 _Cinn ignored her, pacing around while muttering something under her breath._

" _Hey, Cinn…"_

 _She continued muttering, completely lost in her own world, pacing nonstop. Until she turned to Ironwoods desk, and punched it, while screaming._

" _GODDAMMIT!"_

 _Papers scattered, and Cinnabar looked down at a few that had already landed on the ground, tears streaming down as she touched her face with her hand. The rest of the paper however, floated in the air, seeming stuck there. Chokes came from Cinn's mouth, and Winter took a step back._

" _Is this really what I am now? Some false memory, some virus in the code meant to be deleted?" She yelled, staring at her shaking hands. Sparks of red began to pass between them. "SO, AM I? AM I SOME FALSE COPY OF THE REAL THING, SOME FAKE THROWN ACROSS THE BOUNDARY ACROSS WORLDS? AM I REAL? DOES MY LIFE EVEN EXIST? TELL ME!"_

 _She turned to the desk again, and threw her hand out. Before it reached, red lightning jumps from her palm and slams into the desk, creating a large thundering noise. Her punch hit the desk a second later, and the paper floating around it burst into flames, the sparks emitting from her palm enough to light them up._

 _It was static electricity, that's why the paper floated there. Her semblance was out of control, her own emotions were the best of her right now._

" _TELL ME!" Another punch landed, and then another, each one arcing with electricity both before it hit the table, and after she pulled back. Dark red lightning shot all across Cinnabar's body, her hair rising due to the static field Cinn had accidentally created._

 _Winter stepped in to try and calm her down, but she was too slow. Cinnabar suddenly dropped to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Her body wasn't ready for the sudden overuse of her semblance, and most likely had minor Aura Exhaustion. Winter moved as quickly as she could, Cinn still muttering about her truths, or whatever she was going on about._

" _What happened, Cinn, listen to me. What happened?" Winter cried out. Now she was getting scared, Cinnabar wasn't responding._

 _Not sure what to do, Winter did the only thing that worked with Weiss when she had a nightmare. She sat down next to Cinn, and reached out. Cinnabar latched on, and threw herself into Winter, her tears soaking Winter's uniform._

 _It had taken nearly twenty minutes, but Cinn had finally stopped crying. Winter moved her to the couch, and rested Cinn's head on her lap. She had fallen asleep once she stopped crying, but was fated to more or less sleep for a few hours. She'd be fine, minor Aura Exhaustion was cured by relaxation and food. Of course, it already being nearly 1 AM, Winter couldn't leave her here. She was out cold only five minutes later._

* * *

…you were sparking, and I heard what you said. I understand you are going through a lot, but, I think that for now, it's simple." I look at her. What is she, crazy? How is this simple?

"Who do you want to be?" She asks me.

I pull my head off her lap, and look around. We're still in Ironwood's office. It's light out, and he's not in here, so it must be early. The soot of burned paper, scorch marks, and a bent desk showed something had happened here. I lift my arm up, and find my sheaths still clipped on. Along with that, I find massive pain.

This is who I was now. I may not always accept it, but it's the lot in life I was given.

"I have Alex's memories, and Cinn's body, weapons… and her life. It's what I was given, and now, I have a chance to save lives that were supposed to be lost. I won't lose to the universe, and I _will_ counteract Vale's fate." I laugh slightly, however psychotic it may seem. "Lookout Emerald Wizard, Wicked Witch. Your chess game isn't two players anymore~."

I look at Winter, who had let her hair loose when I was out cold. No doubt she slept there waiting for me to wake. It glowed in the rising sun, and gave her entire look as though she was an angel. I thought it looked pretty nice. She was beautiful aft- No. Don't. Do not crush on your mentor and partner. That could go wrong quickly.

"I'm both. I have two lives, but… they became one. Now I have a new purpose. I'll make sure Vale doesn't fall. No one will make me regret trying," I put a determined look on my face. "and I won't let myself fail."

"Good answer, because we begin training in a few hours. Get some food at the cafeteria, and go ahead and talk to the students here. You'll get to see them again once they graduate as hunters, or when next year begins."

Thats right, their school period ends in a few weeks.

Also, cool, I'm getting trained by Winter Schnee. Speaking of which, she was leaving, having put her hair back into her usual look.

"By the way, what happened here? Whats with the burnt paper and stuff?" I ask.

She stops. "You didn't notice during your… breakdown? Your semblance is the control and production of electricity apparently. You threw lightning at the desk, and lit it on fire. Also made paper float thanks to static. Your anger made you lose control, so you already had it unlocked. Either way, it was… kinda badass. You had red electricity arcing around you, and striking the floor. You'll have fun zapping people I'd assume?"

Winter yet again beats my expectations and delivers. Seriously, this person is the 'Ice Queen'? The one who comforted me and stayed with me in the middle of the night to make sure I'm okay? She does not deserve that title. She's so nice, and stunning, beautiful in even the wrong light. I should… I should really…

Hey, answer the question already dumbass.

"Uh…I…" I stammer. "Uh…Yeah, I will. Thanks, by the way, for… you know. Everything."

Good job. Idiot.

My mind is already racing with ideas. Thank you anime, because of you, I'll be able to try and fire a railgun. Wait, what level ESPer am I? Can I even do that? What else cou-

"Your welcome Cinn, and take these. You'll need them." Winter says, reaching out. She's holding a packet in her hands. "A Military ID card, a Driver's License, a Scroll, some Lien, and keys with a slip of paper. Ironwood named you a Specialist, but is keeping it off the record for now. The paper is an address to the apartment you'll be staying at, key is for the door. Also, Signal Academy has a field trip arriving today, a tour. You should say hi to… Ruby, is it?" She tosses the packet at me before pressing a button on the elevator. "See you roomie."

With that the elevator door closes, and two thoughts crosses my mind.

'I should say 'Hello' to the students', and 'Wait did she say Ruby?'

…

…

Hold on, roomie?


	5. Chapter 4: Lies and Wall-Walking

**Chapter 4, normally time to meet some OCs for teams we will barely see ever again. Like, only near the end of the arc for the tournament. Instead, I'm going to pull something a little special. Field Trip time for Signal Academy - Enter one Ruby, Yang, and Qrow.**

 **Usual Disclaimer: Me no own RWBY. Understand? Good.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Enter Sig- wait. Signal?

The airship to Atlas Academy is packed full of students today. Specifically, the students from Signal Academy. They're on a once in a lifetime experience: a tour of the inner workings of Atlas Academy. Looking out the window, Yang could agree with the rumors. Atlas is massive, but beautiful. The snow, freshly fallen and sticking to the ground, made the entire city look like a fairy tale. The senior trip to an academy was playing out just as it had always, but this year Ruby was there, because, as any good uncle should, Qrow had brought her. He _was_ the leader of the trip this year after all.

Glancing over, she notices Ruby is giddy with excitement. Yang is next to her, just as jumpy. This was their first real time outside the Kingdom of Vale. (Patch is an island, but still considered part of the Valic kingdom to them.) They were allowed to hold their weapons, and use most of the facilities there, like the training rooms and the forge, but they couldn't walk in on classes. It was only two days, so they wouldn't get to do much.

Yang strokes her bracelets, before she begins to play with her hair. She wanted to see what Atlas was like, even if she was already accepted to Beacon. Qrow would never let her go here anyway, not with 'that Ice Bitch'. Why he hates her, Yang will never know. She doesn't fight him of course, Beacon was her next step to finding Raven. Her next step in resolution, to answers, to peace of mind. To her mother. To a solution.

Ruby on the other hand, there was only the slightest doubt she wouldn't make it into Beacon now. Drilled in Weapon Maintenance, Marksmanship, and Sythery since the young age of seven, Ruby already had the required years of experience she would really need. Neither Qrow nor Yang would dare tell her, for fear of Tai and his attachments to the innocent bundle of energy. Yang had left him for Beacon, and if Ruby left too, it would… make him very moody again. Unless they pushed it with Ruby's puppy dog eyes..

No. Not worth it. Not with what he could do to Zw-. The loudspeaker broke the thoughts of the blonde.

"Attention all passengers, we will be landing in" *fwoof* "a few minutes, please collect all items, and make sure you are ready to depart." Rose petals swirl around Yang.

"Well, it's time." Yang says to no one, Ruby having zipped out when the announcement was halfway over. Leaving to grab her bag, Yang exits the small observation room smiling, leaving it empty.

* * *

I spent the last hour or so playing around with my semblance, little things like sparks on my hands and throwing tiny bits of lightning. I also learned thanks to my scientific knowledge, and not one of my favorite animes in any sort of way because that's not who I am or anything, that because I can manipulate the electrical field around me, I'm changing the Magnetic Field too. Basicly, I have low level polarity as a bonus thanks to science, but nowhere near Pyrrha's level. I would only be an influence to about the five feet around me at most. But dammit, if I'm not going to use that to my advantage. I already have an idea. The rebar in the walls are made of steel or a similar counterpart, right?

* * *

Ruby and Yang are in awe of the inside of the building. Around them, the ceiling vaulted high, and the windows exposing the outside world. Students sat around in what appeared to be more community that plaza, classes having recently let out for the day. Qrow just grins at their reaction.

"Oh my gosh this is so cool!" Ruby gushes, zipping from points on campus, leaving a trail of rose petals wherever she goes. "That student has a Guitar-axe, that's a retractable mace on a chain, wait. Are those _chainsaw-gauntlets_?" She rushes off again, no doubt to get an autograph from chainsaw-gauntlets. The other students had been dismissed, but the girls were following Qrow until now. He has to meet with Ironwood for Ozpin, as much as he dislikes it, and needs to arrive to his office soon.

It got confusing when they pass each other on the way to the elevator, and end up waiting for it together. It was more confusing seeing Winter step out of the elevator as they were getting in. In a very battered state, bags under her eyes, and frizzy hair. What she said only made it worse.

"I want you to know James, it's all her fault. Not mine. Check the footage, it's kinda interesting. And yes, we both slept on the couch. I was safe. Mostly. The papers I cannot say the same. You might need an extinguisher. Or three. Maybe some rubber gloves."

"What? Miss Schnee, what happened?" Ironwood inquires, leaning against the railing, holding the door open button.

"Don't leave someone who went through what she just did alone again. Ferrous broke down. Now excuse me, I need the day off to prepare, and probably sleep. I've been awake for twenty-nine hours. " Winter replies very hostilely. Protective even.

"Who the hell is up there? What happened?" Qrow pushes. He's going to find out, right now.

"Oh, don't worry Birdie, she doesn't bite." Winter's face wiped away to concern. "Actually, watch your back. She's definitely insane. I'll have fun training her~." Finishing that sentence with singing a note, Winter walks away. It was so unlike Winter, so… wrong, both men shivered. They were in silence for the entire ride up, and they remain in silence once the doors open, revealing the empty, half-charred office, pieces of blueprint and reports grilled to black, lying on the floor. Near his desk is a scorch mark, and a trail reminiscent of lightning. Ironwood was the first to walk in, scowling at the room. After not finding anything truly important destroyed, he sighs, and sits on the desk chair. Which promptly falls apart.

As Qrow walks in, he hears a yelp, and full stops. Half a foot away, a small twenty-something _drops off the ceiling_ , hits the ground, and sits up with her hands immediately in front of her.

"Oh, god, I am so sorry, oh man. Let me just… uh. Yeah." She straightens her long-sleeve shirt, and looks down at her hands, which were now sparking at her sides. "Damn, need to pulse bet-"

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Ironwood booms, pulling her full attention to him. She begins to back to the elevator.

"I, uh. I. I uh… uh… I got nothing. Check the footage."

Silence.

"If it's not fried…"

More silence.

"Anyway, if you need me I'll be on the roof." She quickly darts to the elevator, and presses a button. The doors close before either one can fully form a sentence.

"Who wa-"

"That was our newest specialist, Cinnabar Ferrous. She is also the reason Winter was so… "

Unusual. Weird. Crazy. Unchained Psycho Bitch. "Different." Qrow completes.

"Yes, they're partnered up, and I'm not sure, but they seem to be like you two were at one point. They've only known each other for a half a day, and either they'll screw, or they'll fight before it's over. And honestly..." Ironwood reaches into his desk, pulling out a small bottle of whiskey, before pouring it into two glasses.

"At this point I not sure which is more frightening."

* * *

I'm sure James is mad, so I'll let him cool off. In the meantime, I learned I can hold myself magnetically for a short time, so…

I'm gonna try to run outside on the side of the building. Why not right? Maybe I'll impress someone. Or everyone.

Death-defying stunts, here I co-

*DING*

Ah, my chariot has arrived at its destined location. Top floor. Now, to find roof access, and… oh. Can I do _that_? Oh I know what floor his office is, so I am so going to poke the glass and wave. That will piss him off for sure.

Sure is windy up here…

* * *

"Qrow, as I'm sure you're aware, Ozpin is planning something. I know you answer to him, so please, if it endangers my students, tell me."

"No clue what you're talking 'bout Jimmy. I'm here for the fieldtrip. We both know that. Nothing to do with anything here, definitely not your new specialist."

Ironwood frowns at that sentence, the mention of Cinnabar alone enough to make him question Qrow. She was added into the system yesterday, and had somehow already had her first incident. Of plenty, no doubt. He sighs.

"If that's a hint, I'll brief you about her later. For now, we need to discuss why you choose here to make your yearly trip instead of, I don't know, Beacon? Isn't your niece going there?"

"Yeah, she is. What of it? Let her have fun, it's her first time outside of Vale. She need the experience, I think it would do her go-. "

*Tink*

…

*Tink Tink*

Both men turn to the window overlooking the city, where a smiling Cinnabar was waving inside. Her mouth moves in the shape of "Hello", but no words come out. Around her hands and knees, small arcs of electricity connect to the building.

*DING*

The elevator draws their attention as Winter steps out, and looks at the window.

The room sits in silence, especially as Winter arrives in the elevator, having showered and redressed herself in the apartment across the street. As soon as the doors open, she is greeted by the sight of Cinn looking into the office with a huge smile on her face.

Both men turn and look back at Cinnabar, who's smile grew massively. Pointing at the building, mouthing something, she waves again.

"General, I wanted to addre- Cinn, what the hell It's been like, twenty minutes, how did you… what?!" Cries out Winter. She begins rushing to the elevator when Ironwood mentions something.

"You'll probably want to catch her, I don't think she thought this through."

A slipping noise coming from the glass window alerts them to the now-panicking specialist on the other side, extremely high above the ground. Well, two of them. Qrow, on the other hand, is trying to figure out how this girl had wormed her way into Winter and Ironwood's hearts so quickly.

"I'll be quick, we're holding a meeting with her after this. She's not in a good state of mind right now. No doubt you'll see why. Basically, full mental breakdown and identity crisis. It was bad. It's also what happened here. She, kinda lost control of her semblance, and created a thunderstorm. I cleaned up best I could."

"Thank you, Winter. " He tells her as the doors close to the elevator, no doubt on its way to the top floor.

"I'm, wait- Created?" Qrow asks, receiving no answer.

"I suggest we look out the window, this will be interesting to watch."

* * *

Oh, shit. Shit. SHIT. I'm slipping. Well, Winter booked it to the elevator so I just have to wait for her to get me and then I'll be good. My semblance is easier to control than I thought it would be, but you know. Emotions and all that.

' _You're out of your mind. You're not well at the moment.'_

Ohh, who's that?

' _Your common sense you dumbass, you're going kinda crazy at the moment. Suicidal almost. Suck it up, you don't know who you are, but you can always find out.'_

Nah, seems too rational to be me. Who are you really?

' _Your common sense, I'm not lying. You are seriously in danger. You're crazy if you think you can survive this.'_

Maybe I don't want to. Maybe I should just let this all end. And no, you're crazy.

Eh, who am I kidding, I'm the one who's magnetically attached to a skyscraper with no ropes, and who's been arguing with my own mind for quite some time about suicidal tendencies. Best not let those get to me for now.

"Cinn you idiot, what are you doing!?" Echos from above. It's my new roomie, Winter.

"Hey bestie, can you get me up there with some fancy glyph work, or are you unable to at the moment!" I shout back up, slowly trying to ascend by myself, with little success. I look at the window, in time to see Qrow wave awkwardly, while Ironwood slams what I assume is his second shot. "They're looking at me right now. Qrow's waving at me." I wave back, and slip some more. "Crap, Win, I'm slipping more." I could hear the glyphs forming as she stair-stepped her way down to me, but she was being too slow.

Then, I felt it. The disconnect of the magnets from each other. Mainly, my body separating from the building.

"Oh no."

I slam my eyes shut, and begin to plummet for a total of about a meter, before slamming into a hard platform. Is this it, did I die? I should have, if it weren't for a solid glyph under me, and Winter to me.

"Oh Dust, what was I doing? I'm… Okay, I'm following you around today because I am in no state of mind to be trusted alone right now." I cry, lunging for her, wrapping her in a hug. I continue to cling to her arm as she makes another glyph, and slowly work us back up to the top of the roof. I don't really want to let go, but it's getting a little weird. Nope, not letting go. I'm now embracing this crush. I will make Winter Schnee mine. I mentally begin laughing. It was not a 'this is funny' laugh, it was full on maniacal.

Of course, I may have let some slip out. "Heh heh."

I get a look from her that says 'What was that?'

"Sorry, still mentally checked out right now, please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeeeeep."

We were in relative silence while we ascended, but once we got to the roof, Winter had one more thing to say.

"I'd like to know where that determination went from thirty minutes ago? You know, when you were all heroic, and 'I'll save them all Winter, just you watch!'" At the end of her question, she raised the pitch of her voice.

She… she just made fun of my voice! Sure it's a little squeaky, but that was a low blow.

"I'm already self conscious about my voice, don't ma _ke me worse_!" I manage to squeak out. My own vocal cords betraying me, finish with a pitch rise so fast it should have made the windows crack.

Great, now she's laughing.

Wait. She's _laughing_. I made her laugh. Oh my god, yes. Step one complete! Now I need to confess my feelings and… NO. Do not pull a Ted Mosby. Never pull a Ted Mosby. Slow, not sudden.

Although maybe a kiss wouldn't hurt, I mean, we're- "Cinn." -similar in height, but I'm still shorter by the tiniest bit. I would lean- "Cinn."-up on my toes and peck her cheek, and go all 'my hero' on her as a joke. Yeah, -"Cinnabar!"-a joke.

"Sorry what? I was spacing out again. What do you need my knight is white armor?"

"What? What are you talking about?" She looks at me with a confused smile. I respond with a smirk. Then she blushes. YES! I got her to blush.

"Let's just get to the elevator, kay? I'm guessing Ironwood wants to talk about the state of his room?" I say with a sigh. He will yell and yell, and yell. Way too much.

"Part of that is a yes, but I think he wants you to talk to Qrow. He and his nieces are here on the field trip from Signal, remember. You might want to meet them too, you need to establish yourself."

" _Ourselves_ , Winter. You're my partner now, so you get to interact with Team RWBY as well. Your sister is practically second in command. Also, that means you get to tease her at any and all times. Think, what if she has a crush? You get to help her, or tease her to no end about it. The real big sister experience." I emphasize this with the arm wrap-around and gesture of 'showing you the world.' with my right and left arms in that order.

"I uhh. Weiss goes on about the family life you had when you were younger, and how difficult it could be. Sorry if I'm overstepping my bounds. I just thought it would be nice to have the Royal Ices as close as how I thought sisters should be." I blab, hoping I haven't offended her.

"Cinn, what do you mean should? Are you are your sisters not close or something."

"How did you know I had sisters?" I'm shocked. I never mentioned that, unless…

"You mentioned them and a… 'Thanksgiving' during your breakdown."

Ah. So that was not in my head, I ranted about that outloud. I knew I screamed a little, but everything I thought was in my head, I actually said? She must have freaked out hearing the pronoun issues.

"I was close to my sisters, yes. But you didn't really pay attention to the pronouns carefully did you? My name, or the name of the person whose memories are in my head, was Alexander. He was a nineteen year-old student who was majoring in Mechanical and Computer Engineering at Uni. _He_ , Win. My memories are of being a male. I have no idea how to… girl. I was the middle brother, the concerned for his younger sister and a baby to his older one. My personality is already changing, I can feel it. I hope it isn't too drastic." At this point, I'm flailing my arms at the stunned Winter, my entire body screaming in emotion.

"I can already feel how different is is being a girl, but all that hygiene and how to care for long hair and bra shopping, and the fact that after all of this, I'm positive I'm a lesbian because I've been crushing on you for the last 15 hours, and I don't know who I am anymore because all of this is a change from what I think I know and I just…"

I drop my arms and look at her with what I can feel is eyes full of tears. According to her face, I look so pitiful that no one can resist it. I just throw myself against her and stuff my crying face into her shoulder.

"So far, you have been the weird constant since I got here. You haven't left me yet. Don't leave me. Please, I need your help. I know I'm not well, and I've already asked so much of you, but please. I can't do this alone."

I look up to see her face, smiling. It looks so warm. So happy.

"Then I guess you won't be alone."


	6. Chapter 5: Life With a Twist

**Chapter 5, rock on. I'd say Cinn is about done with the mental breakdown, after all, Winter is supposed to help her. Next up, meetings and meetings. I'm sorry about being so late, but Midterms are killer. Especially Psychology. Extra long chapter with singing, foreshadowing, and a weapon reveal.**

 **And a shy Rubes.**

 **Volume 4 HYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPE. Ahem. Moving on.**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN RWBY. Never have, never will. Cinnabar is mine though. She may be 21, but she needs her hugs.**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Dragon, the Flower, and the Bird.

Yaaaay… A staff meeting. What fun Ironwood. 'You had a mental breakdown, well let's have you meet the people whose futures you know. Don't let anything slip!' I mean seriously, why don't you just leave me to sleep it's been almost twenty hours since I slept, and I passed out. That just makes me more tired. Uhg, why do I…

* * *

"Cinn?" Winter says, waving her hand in front of Cinnabar's face. They're currently in a meeting with Qrow and Ironwood. They had just walked in when Cinn sat down in the newly cleaned office, and stared at a wall. No words, or well, anything. She had been like this for the last ten minutes, and neither Qrow nor James had noticed, too busy with their conversation.

"Cinn, you there, hello?" Winter tried the only thing she thought would work. "Earth to Cinnabar, do you read me?!"

"Huh, sorry what, you just said Earth, yes?" She responds, her head suddenly moving to face Winter. Her hair whips around, and some lands in her mouth. She does not acknowledge it.

"Finally, you've been out of it for a while. Something wrong?"

Neither of the girls realized Qrow and Ironwood had stopped talking, now looking at the crazy specialists.

"Winter, I'm cursed with random knowledge from the future, what could I possibly be worrying about? It's not like I'm trying to prevent a total collapse of the stability and peace that balances on the edge of a knife already, without a massive army in Vale, the Vytal Tournament, Beacon falling, students dying, and the only way to guarantee that everything works out as it could, is by sacrificing not one, but two of their best friends lives." She rants, waving her hand around as she grows in volume. "No, in fact, I'm doing quite wonderfully, dealing with who, or what, I am in relation to this world. I've only had multiple breakdowns, an identity crisis, and suicidal tendencies. All, I might add, was in the course of approximately twenty or so hours. _How do you think I'm doing?!_ " She shouts, while a single bolt jumps to Qrow, who shrugs it away. He decides to butt in, leaning towards the newly-made specialist.

"What are you ranting about?"

"Sorry Qrow, I've been dealing with a lot." She turns to face the men in the room. "So, how are you two fine gentlemen this lovely evening?" Cinn answers back.

* * *

Winter hit me with her elbow, before clarifying something important. "Cinnabar, it's currently two in the afternoon."

"Well, how are you men this fine afternoon? Progressing in this meeting well I hope?" I retort, semi-sarcastically.

"Is this how Winter feels when she's around me? I'm so sorry." Qrow asks, before giving Winter a pitying look.

"Oh no, she's far more coordinated." Winter snaps back, causing Qrow to fake pout at her.

"Oh got their just like their families. This exact thing happens with Penny. Weiss repeats that word for word, and Rubes pouts." I comment, drawing looks from Qrow, who's look states 'How do you know Ruby?' while Winter's is 'Why did you say that, you idiot.'

…

"Oops."

"How do you know Ruby, Cinnabar?" Qrow growls. It's not as frightening as I thought it would be, but that may be because I just walked on the walls of a skyscraper without a harness.

"I don't. Technically. I know what she'll be doing for the next year, and what she'll go through, what friends she'll make, and what team at Beacon she'll join. Oh, and that thanks to a failed robbery by Roman, Ozpin decides to pull her into Beacon two years early. But in reality, I think he wants to exploit her past, and her genetics with the whole 'Legend of the Silver Eyes' thing." I flap my hands around during this, and finish it off with a nice point to my red eyes. "Really, I'm happy I didn't learn like she will. Ok, I did, but that because I witnessed her discovery, but didn't. She already has for me, and will eventually for you, find her powers. Ohhh…. Tenses are going to be fun to screw around with."

They're all staring at you you idiot. Prove you have seen the future, give Qrow a clue. Something to make him realize he can help. Just do it right.

"So, yeah. I kinda… knowthefutureandalotaboutRubyandYang'sTeam,RWBYledbyRubyRosemembersincludingbutnotlimitedtothetsunthesisandthecatasisterteamwithapsychoaninjaaknightandachampionandanandroidadogadanceandthebreach." My face is really red, I can't breath.

"Cinn, BREATH!" Winter cries.

I suck in air, and slow down. "Sorry, I'm really, really tired, and prone to rambling apparently. I guess I ramble a lot, like a whole lot, mainly when I'm uncomfortable, like right now, or earlier, when I was testing the limits of my Electromastery, because I can make electric fields, and therefore magnetic fields. I can attract myself to the walls, well, the rebar, and walk with no care for gravity. I enjoy it, or, more aptly, I really think I can exploit it in battles, and I think if we can train me, I would love to battle Team RWBY as a two on four," I turn to face Winter, whose face is twisted in pure confusion. "if you're up for it of course, I just thought it would be fun to put the four in their places. Oh, also, I have an idea for your swords. You need a long range option, so I thought I could steal the same setup Cinder has for her glass swords and make it so yo-"

"Is this going anywhere, Specialist?!" Ironwood shouts. Meanly, I might add.

"That was rude." I mutter. "Qrow is making me nervous, that glare isn't helping. I ramble, I said that, it's how I work, you kno-"

"Yes, yes, thank you." He sighs. "This must not leave the office, understand. Ozpin cannot learn about this, no longer how much you want him to know. Looking at how the girls are exchanging glances, even I'm in the dark about things."

"You are too involved. The reason my new partner and roomie-" I wrap my arm around Winter and try to pull her closer, only to get no reaction. "-knows everything she does is because she's not involved in anything major that I can think of. I would tell Qrow, but he already stands where I do on most of the things, and telling him anything else is already useless. I only plan five people to have my future information." I answer. Hopefully answer some of the unasked questions too. "Ruby Rose, Weiss and Winter Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xaio Long. My partner, and the protagonist's team."

"Ruby is a… protagonist?" Qrow asks slowly, trying to comprehend what I implied.

"She fits the part. A spunky and optimistic genius who got accepted into Beacon two years early, and was chosen to lead her team by the headmaster. The team made up of the most promising individuals of the year, rising up to be one of the best teams in the first year. Not only that, but they have their first mission as freshies, and help arrest Roman Torchwick, along with stopping multiple dust robberies, and taking out the experimental weapons defense platform dubbed 'Paladin'. Oh, don't forget the unawakened superpowers." I sarcastically snark. Now I'm being rude. "Sorry, I have barely eaten or slept in a while, and for an ex-uni student studying for finals week, I was already running on fumes." I look at Winter with the biggest pout on my face I can muster. "Can I please go home?"

"Yes, Cinn, you can. We'll finish up." I pump my arms, and stand up.

* * *

As Cinnabar stands up, she starts to chant, pumping her arms with emphasis on the last word.

"Raviolis and a nap. Raviolis and a nap. Raviolis and a nap."

She walks into the elevator, and pauses to press a button, before resuming her chant.

"Raviolis and a Nap. Raviolis an-" *DING* The doors sealing on the lift are the only thing heard between the three spectators, each wondering one thing. Qrow voices it first.

"What in the _hell_ is a Ravioli?"

* * *

I look around the elevator. I stopped chanting as soon as the doors closed, but they don't need to know that. Pulling out the key and paper, I realize I need to call a cab or something. A bus? What is public transport in Atlas. It's Atlas, so there has to be something right?

The elevator dings.

"Oh, thank… Dust? I got out without pissing off Qrow, I think he'd kill me if I implied anything bad happened to her, they are family after all."

"Who's family with Qrow?" A new, yet recognizable voice ponders. Great.

"Oh, no one, but your field trip must be boring waiting here Rubes, Yang. It's nice to meet you." I hold my hand out to the goth loli in front of me, and holy shit she's adorable. She's like, 5'2" and so huggable. Must. Resist. And her hair, I always thought it was minor, but the fade to red is so much more pronounced in real life. "Your uncle brags about you. More than you realize. His niece, and his student, so capable she could probably make it into Beacon a year early if she tried hard enough."

"Oh, I doubt that." Yang comments sarcastically. Just looking at her makes me self-conscious, and I was a guy until yesterday. Gorgeous blonde hair, very well taken care of, down her back. Her body looks nice, and, if I weren't technically in my twenties, I would try to ask her out. In retrospect, it's probably better I don't.

"You know what, you're right. Two years. She could make it in with you. Imagine that, being on the same team, never leaving each other's sides." Aww, Ruby is bushing hard. Still hasn't said anything. I reach out, and pet her head. "You're doing good kid. Not just well, but good."

I cough. "Anyway, I've got to got to sleep. Win kept me up and falling off the side of the skyscraper was enough the first time. I won't push three." Leaving the confused pair behind as I walk to the doors, I quickly thought of something. "Actually, Yang, let's make a bet. If Ruby makes it into Beacon two years early, you owe me ten Lien. Deal?"

"I ain't one for backing down. You've got a deal." I walk back over to shake her hand. "And twice? Did you not learn after one?" Yang probes.

"Oh, she caught me in the air the second time. The first time I used my semblance to catch myself. But, that's a secret for now." I look over to the ever-silent Ruby. "Next time we talk, I'll show you Pinfire." I smirk, flashing my wrists at her, the sheaths' polished black and red casing clicking to their shield positions. "I think you'll like 'em."

With that, I begin to leave again, planning on not giving the two my name. Mainly because when Qrow eventually bitches to them about the Specialist at Atlas, they might put it together. Dramatic reveals are always the best.

"Who are you? Can I have your scroll to call for the bet?"Yang shouts.

I throw my arm in a backwards wave. "Just ask Weiss to call Winter." That will leave them confused, and then, even more confused when they become a team with Weiss. Heh.

Welp, time to eat, let's find this apartment that I'm living in with Winter. It looks like it's about… half a city away. Great.

I step up to the curb of the road, and watch as a taxi drives by. Awesome, they have taxis in Remnant. The cars are all new looking, yet old looking at the same time. Like a car from 2005 that was kept in very good shape. A little boxy, and less aerodynamic than newer models, but thanks to gravity dust I think it hardly matters.

"TAXI!"

* * *

I forgot pasta is in low quantity here. They probably didn't know what a ravioli was. I'll fix that once I get ingredients. The apartment is nicer than I thought it would be. It's closer to a penthouse suite, but on the top of a normal seven floor complex. There's three bedrooms, and two baths. The kitchen is linked to the living area, and both are met in the middle with a small area with the main door. By the door is a coat rack, and a small closet. I didn't open it.

The note says on it that I have the bedroom closer to the kitchen, while her and the guest rooms are connected to the living room. My room is a cream color, and a basic bed with light sheets. A letter left on it gave me the location of the pillows and blankets. The closet next to the bed, a shelf up top to be specific. The closet had some drawers and a small rack to hang clothing. Good, I'll not need much space anyway.

Next was the kitchen and living room. The kitchen reminded me of home, faded black wood cabinets and appliances. Bright white tiles and grey outlining are the flooring. Ice blue hand-towels hung by the fridge, which was white, and a dishwasher, a similar white.

The living room was dark brown hardwood, with a rug under a cream coffee table. The walls were a similar cream throughout the apartment now that I think about it. On the far wall, opposite a soft ice blue couch, sat a TV-Scroll, probably 60". No wires, except for a power line, so it probably runs off wireless or something.

I'd also received a text from her explaining the functions of a scroll. I had already tinkered with it, and found it to be, more or less, a reskinned version of the iOS system. Thank you similarities across worlds. There was one secret, one thing I never told anyone yet. I somehow kept my phone. An Iphone 6, with my music and contacts, a full battery, etc. That's how I compared the two so well. Honestly, it scared me. How did my phone get here. Or his phone, Alex. No, not now. We're over it Cinn. Over it. Of course, it has no signal, but I tried anyway, before turning it off and looking for an outlet.

That leads me to now, standing in the middle of the room. Now, where's the laundry machine? Ah, Screw it. Turning on my phone, I look through my settings. It looks like everything is still here, so… this is it. It's really my phone. At least I got to keep my music, even if half of it exists here already. I turn on the TV-Scroll with a remote on the couch, and plop down for a moment. I wonder if… bluetooth, and my phone?

Yes! Holy crap yes, I can. Dance party here I come. Music no one's ever heard before, prepare thyself world.

You see, there are three things about me that I am actually skilled at:

1\. Engineering mathematics. I can math the shit out of many things, and if I knew Remnant's gravity field, I would prove it.

2\. Singing. I took lessons as a kid. Do not forget, I was a boy during that time. It was more embarrassing, and I never took to it in public. I'm not amazing, and Weiss could outshine me in any song I don't know by the back of my hand, but, I can sing my favorites very well. I'm excited to sing in this voice now.

3\. Bluffing/Compartmentalization. I have a great poker face, and can shove my emotions down if something important comes up. This is due to, well, practice. I thought this skill would be useful, and being able to guilt a professor to get an extension is one of my favorite things to do. Not on tests or anything important, but you know. It has it merits.

Winter is going to have fun training me with daggers. I'll probably make sure to mix in some martial arts in as well, if I lose my knives.

Linking my phone up to the Scroll, I put on shuffle, and walk to the kitchen, undoing my shirt. Need to find a washing machine, and take a shower.

* * *

I did find one, although it took me an hour. Damn hair. I had to strip down though, and walking bare was something I did not want to do yet. Being in the shower was already weird enough. I found a robe in the bathroom, Winter's I hope, and decided to use that.

Now, I'm in the kitchen, cooking a box of ramen-like noodles I found. I add what I thought was salt, and strain the noodles. After a small bit of what could be butter, I stirred it around, and tasted it.

I was right, it was butter and salt. Good, Remnant has similar products for food. Learning everything here on the side of life is getting tiring already, but having something familiar in the background is good. Every now and then a song with actual lyrics comes on, and I sing along. I felt semi-normal for the first time in nearly twenty-five hours.

I've eaten, and done laundry. Time to nap.

* * *

Now dry, in clean and toasty clothing, and brushed hair currently flat and unstyled, having napped for three hours, and overall been bored, I think it's time to find out what Winter is doing. She hasn't returned yet.

I pull out my scroll, tap a few buttons, and wait as the device calls her up.

"Hello, this is Winter Schnee, who may be calling?" She answers.

"Wow Win, you never entered my number, I'm hurt. I even passed out on your lap. Best time for a picture as a contact photo. I was wondering what you're doing, it's seven. You coming home soon?" I reply.

"Oh, Cinn, it's you. I'll add it soon. I'm busy, what time is it?"

I glance over at the oven, where I was baking what I hoped was cake. It seemed hazier than usual. Wait. "Shit, my cake! No nononononono, this was going to be a good cake, what are yo-. Oh. It's good. All good. It was supposed to do that don't worry. Not on fire like I thought. Ovens, you never know?"

"What, Cinn what are you doing? Are you making ca-, wait what do you mean 'Ovens, you never know?'"

"Ummm. Nothing, I'm just making food. It's 7:19 PM, so…"

"I'll be back by 8:00, ok?" Winter sighs. She must be really busy right now.

"Yes, thank you, sorry for interrupting what is probably an important meeting. Yes."

Silence on both ends.

"Bye Winter."

"Goodbye Cinnabar."

* * *

Now it's 7:48 PM, and Winter is not home yet. I've just begun try two of the cake, with an idea of how the Dust oven works this time. Fire Dust is hard to work with, even when I personally am not manipulating it.

Combining ingredients in a mixer I found in a cabinet is a lot easier too. I don't like doing it by hand. Whisks are not fun. I'm also singing along to one of the few songs on my phone that actually has lyrics.

 _Tossed into a gambling match of death,  
_ _I turned away; you forced me anyway,  
_ _Killing to survive - the last one out alive - that's the duty given to me!_

I suck in air, and move on to the next segment, getting faster.

 _Dance in despair! The boy was dreaming of living free,  
_ _But now he can only laugh at reality,  
_ _No such thing as selfless, two faces showing,  
_ _Hypocrites and liars abound!  
_ _They won't help you now!_

I spin as I put the mixed cake into the oven, continuing the song. I love this voice, it fits so well singing. I might actually sing in front of someone.

 _How could a hero have been my dream?  
_ _How could I have thought that it would solve anything?  
_ _Make a wish! I shout it out,  
_ _But it's too late,  
_ _Stupidity is not curable at all._

The song continues on for another verse before a solo for the guitar and the keyboard come on. Then, I resume the singing the song.

 _Accurate prediction three-out-of-ten  
_ _A girl who dreams of murder and romance  
_ _Solve the mystery - which answer could it be- That's the duty given to me!_

Closing my eyes, I lean against the counter and continue.

 _Dance in despair! The one whose image shone from a screen,  
_ _But now it can only laugh at reality!  
_ _When your goodness is but a simulation,  
_ _Reasons never matter at all.  
_

 _So what's selfish now?  
_ _It doesn't matter if the righteous win,  
_ _Or if I'm the only one who believes in hope,  
_ _All I know, is that I long  
_ _To leave this place  
_ _And find a world where things aren't so right or wrong!_

As the song continues through it's outro, I hear sarcastic clapping coming from my right.

"I didn't know you could sing. You sound good."

Shit. How? How is he here, she didn't give him a way in did he?

"Hey, Qrow. How did you get in here?" I slowly ask. The next song begins playing. Ah, it's an anime intro. No, it's in Japanese, dammit. I pull out my phone, tapping the volume down key to keep the music quiet. Hope he didn't notice.

He holds up a white key, suspiciously similar to Winter's.

"I'm going to have to let Win in later aren't I?" I comment.

He shrugs, before pulling out his flask, and taking a swig from it. It doesn't smell like alcohol though. He staggers forward.

"Well, I can't smell more than the usual amount of booze I got from earlier, so I'll assume you're faking." I say, smirking. He pauses mid drink, and gives me a look.

"Ohhh, she thinks she's so smart. But here's a secret." He gets closer. "I am drunk, this is just water."

Well, I tried. "Fine, go pass out on the couch, I was baking a cake. I'm not in the best of moods right now. Very cranky."

"Make me." He retorts.

I'd like to say I reacted fairly, but that's completely not true. Instead, I walk past him, and pat his shoulder. As I do so, I shock him. Hard.

He straightened up, and his face changed to annoyance. "Ow, what the hell was that for?"

I jump back, and face him, laughing. "I knew it was an act, you couldn't pickpocket Winter dunk, there was no way." Holy crap, I'm childish. I was mature last I remember. What happened to me?

He leans back against the wall, and 'subtly' motions to his buster-scythe on his back.

"I was curious on who you really are, and wanted answers. They both wouldn't answer me. So thought you were the only option left. As much as I hate Winter, I think you aren't so bad so far. Yang told me about her bet with you."

"Please," I laugh, "it's not a bet when you know the outcome. Like I said earlier, sometime near the start of Beacon's school year, Ruby Rose is in a dust shop reading a weapons mag., and ends up stopping a heist by Roman Torchwick. Glynda was watching, and only interferes when our mysterious Queen herself makes an appearance. They trade blows, and Rubes is pulled into the police for questioning. Oz shows up personally to extend an invitation after he meets Ruby. Do you want to know the interesting part about that whole thing though?"

I pause for effect, and lean the direction of Qrow. "Ozpin's first word when he meets Ruby are 'Ruby Rose. You have… silver eyes.'" I finish it with an impeccable mock of Ozpin.

His eyes grow wide. He already knows of the tales then, good. I wasn't sure when Oz briefed him on that. Qrow scowls at me. "How do you know that for sure?"

"The basics are… very scientific. Let's simplify it, and say I know bits and pieces of the future thanks to the faulty memory of a nineteen year old kid from another universe." That didn't simplify it much. "Proof this is all real begins then. That's the earliest info I have, so I have no way to prove it now, other than putting me on a lie detector."

He opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"Already did, don't want to again. There are limited information people who are even aware of this get. Sorry Qrow, but you are too involved to know much. For now, know I'm taking steps to prevent any major injuries to the girls. They have had enough happen to them, I'm not letting them lose family or friends to further myself or my adopted kingdom."

That seemed to quiet him for now. Good, because I may need help for a plan I have in the future. A horrible, non-thought out plan that could have huge consequences if it fails. If it works, then there's a chance I could prevent the droids turning sides all together. I just need to see their code, and change it to identify White Fang and Cinder as enemies with the Grimm, alter Cinder's plans a little.

I know my adventure is just beginning, but I can't help but grin. Qrow just raises his right eyebrow. I'm enjoying it, being here. I have a plan, and in the end, RWBY will stand against Salem, with SSSN and JNPR right behind them.

* * *

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Winter standing next to me, a determined look on her face. Behind her, Team JNR, behind me, Team WBY. Behind them, Ruby passed out on the ground. In front of us stood Cinder, her full maiden powers achieved, Emerald and Mercury on either side. Around us Vale burned, and the tatters of Beacon sat in clouds of dust. Airships dog-fighting with Giant Nevermores and Tilt-jets chasing Griffons. The Wyvern, perched on the CCT, frozen in it's spot thanks to Rubes.

Heh, looking back now, just how wrong I was.

I spin my daggers in my hands, and send arcs of electricity through them, and press the buttons on the sides of them. I raised the altered form, one I had dubbed 'Thunder', into the air, and fired. I could feel the battles around us falter, and the eyes turn to see where the brilliantly bright light, and the booming clap of a projectile moving at Mach 3, originated from.

"You, and me Cinder. One on One. The lives of everyone rests on me, and the destruction of all on you. You game?"

"Very well. Let's begin, shall we?" She responds.

As we began, I couldn't help but notice that the sounds around me have stopped, leaving only the cawing of birds in the backround. In the deepest parts of me... I always knew this would happen. That this is where I would end up. After all, this is story of me, my life, and who I fought for. Whenever you look back to the past, a hero's biography ends with one, final, valiant thing.

Their death.

 **If you're wondering, the song is** **Zetsubousei: Hero Chiryouyaku -English Cover. The link is a youtube song. /watch?v=YKCN1GFJiK0. As usual, there is no Beta. I proofread my stuff. If any errors bug you, just tell me, and I'll fix them ASAP.**

 **EDIT: The last scene is just a flash forward. A sneak preview of what will happen, and a glimpse as to just how fixed points are present. Not everything can be changed.**


	7. Short: Pasta Problems

**Every now and them, I plan to post shorts that have varying degrees of canon to the story. Here's one for you today. These are mainly if I'm busy and still want to put something out.**

* * *

 **Short #1: Cooking with Cinnabar**

 **Status: Canon, aprox. One Month in.**

* * *

"Hey Winter, you home?" Cinnabar's voice rung out of the kitchen.

No response was heard.

"Just double-checking, no one is here right now?" She asked again.

Still no response.

"Ok, I guess I'll cook something for us. How about I try making those ravioli finally. She's never even heard of them." Cinn snorted at all of the missing types of pasta on this planet.

She reached into the cabinets close by, pulling out the needed ingredients to bake pasta from scratch. What Cinnabar forgot was that there is no such thing as a pasta machine that can make the shapes of lasagna or ravioli. It's all by hand, if she were to try. And try she did.

* * *

It had been a hard a grueling day for Winter. The students start soon, and final checks were being made for initiation and, as such, the blockades set up and possible teams sorted. She wanted to walk in, eat whatever is leftover, and go to sleep. She had paperwork she needed to do and hadn't expected to have come across this.

"Hey, Cinn, I'm back. Not sure if you left or not, but if you're not training, now is a good ti- WHAT DID YOU DO!?" She screamed, dropping her piles of papers she had been carrying.

"Oh, hey Winter." Cinnabar responded. Her normally high and cheery voice had been low and pained. The walls and the tile were coated in flour, bits of pasta, and sauce. There was a half-melted cheese block stuck to the ceiling, and on the counter, a mixing bowl resting upside down on a whisk like some monument to her sins, and a sign advising the purchase of new materials. In the middle of this mess was a pentagram drawn in the flour, with the disassembled mixer in its center. Cinn sat behind it, her face like she had come out of the Great War. Her hair was speckled with white flakes, her casual pajamas soaked in sauce and cheese. Behind Cinn a handle to... something... poked out.

"Cinnabar, I thought we said no cooking after the cake incident."

"Oh stop scolding me, I got it. Got the message." She snarked back. "I mean, look at me." She whimpered, gesturing to her entire body, "I'm caked in baking materials. I can't even shower, It'll ruin my hair. Although," she said, propping her left hand under her chin, running her right through her waist length hair. "I think my hair looks good with white accents. I'll try dyeing it in the future. What do you think Win? White tips?" She looked up at Winter, half pouting, half questioning.

Winter just sighed.


	8. Chapter 6: Just Another Day

**Chapter Six. It's actually funny, I have so many ideas to get out, so I may have an extra length chapter soon. A few more shorts are ready to be released in random times incase I can't update a large thing.**

 **Usual Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except Cinnabar. If I did, Vale would have burned a lot quicker.**

It's been a few days, and by a few, I mean nearly two months. Why the large timeskip? Nothing interesting happens. Ever. All Winter and I do is train. All training. We're closer than ever, but that may be due to the nonstop bantering we have while training. I'm actually thinking of asking her out, funny enough. Two months ago that would have been a huge no go, but I think I can chance it.

I had actually pulled Winter into the forge today, with an idea that may benefit us in the future. And as the forges heat, while the students work on toughening their weapons, Winter sat next to me with a crucial question.

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to take Eis and Feuer, and make them combine into a bow, one that works like Myrtenaster with a rotating chamber holding types of dust."

I nod.

"Why?"

"Win," I whine "we need a good ranged weapon, and I can only fire Pinfire's Thunder once without passing out. It's a last resort."

Oh, yeah. Pinfire. I named my daggers, and their forms. Thanks to the two opals on the bottom of the hilts, Pinfire Opals. I think the name fits. Especially with the fact it fires pins. We found out that they do transform, with a click of a button near the gems. The daggers' blades separate and extend, the edges pointing inwards like this: . It made no sense until I found a hidden pouch in my pants that contained needle-like projectiles. It's a railgun, powered by my semblance. I pump my electricity into the blades, and a small processor and voltmeter regulate the distribution. The result of the discovery is a funny story. **(AN: Yes, this is a short, don't worry. It's actually the next one to pe posted.)**

"Plus," I add, "we can call it Blitz."

"How will it work?" She asks, leaning toward me. The smirk on her face is all too obvious, she likes the idea.

"You know how Eis holds the small compartment for Feuer? We put the revolving chamber on the shortsword, widen the compartment, and when you want to use the bow, you flip the sword like so..." I flip the shortsword, and point to a small area on Eis. "and put this bit on a hinge, making it a scope instead of a cap, letting you insert the sword backwards into the compartment, and aim with the scope-cap." To demonstrate my point, I pull the two swords together, and fake shooting a bow. "Gravity dust instead of a string lets you change the power of the bow on the fly, and make shots that would be impossible normally."

"You seem to have… really thought this out." Winter comments.

"Me? Ohhh no, this was only my idea. Rubes helped out with the designs."

"And the idea?"

"And the idea." I add, after a look from my ivory-haired friend.

I met Ruby and Yang again when they went to find Qrow at the apartment. I ended up trading numbers with Ruby, but I told Yang the same thing when she asked the second time. Ask Weiss, she'll have it.

She does by the way, Winter put it on her scroll when Weiss visited one time. I never got to see her, I was still training. Actually now that I think about it, I think that was the same day as…

Anyway.

"Two engineers building a bow with steampunk tech and magic, how could we resist." She laughs, and I put Feuer back in it's compartment. "It's your choice, but I think it would be worth it. Rubes wants to actually do it, but if you want to have someone else do it, I'll tell her." Winter nods, and I see she had decided to not let Ruby do it.

"Of course, it would solidify us with the leader of Team RWBY more, and she is a genius with that stuff. She built Crescent Rose by herself, not even Qrow helped." I push. I really want Ruby to build this, she adds so much flair, and she would love the challenge. She may be young, but she has so much talent, I don't want to waste it.

"Okay, I'll send the printed schematics to Ruby with Eis and Feuer." I grin, and grab my scroll to call Ruby. "But, I'm not paying her for this, nor do I expect her to want something from me."

"Please, she would pay for being able to have her work be used by 'The Second Best Specialist She Knows'." I answer.

"Second?" I turn to look at her, grinning harder. She looks like she was hurt by that statement. Mocking me, of course.

"I'm first. Too much of a mystery, she hasn't even seen Pinfire yet." My scroll finally connects, and calls Ruby. It took a few tries, but she finally answered.

" _Cinn? What's up?"_

"Hey shorty." She grumbles something. "Yeah, I'm teasing you, drink milk. Winter said yes."

" _Wait, really? I get to work on them?"_

"Yep," I respond, "but we sent the schematics over with them, we have a few extra ideas. If you're not too busy, can you backburner anything else for the moment. We want to have these by the end of next week, need them for Atlas' Initiation. We start earlier than Beacon, so Yang's shottys could wait, right?"

" _No problem. Just don't call me 'Shorty'."_ A shuffling emanates from the background noise. A shuffling akin to...

"Fine," I turn to Winter, who could hear both sides of the conversation, "that's reserved for Weiss anyway." I wink at Win, who is holding her hand over her mouth in a feeble attempt to quiet herself. We went over anime cliches and how to recognize them for inside jokes when near each other.

" _WHO IS WEISS?"_ Yang shouts into the device from across the room.

"Ruby's little Tsun." I answer. Winter's dam broke and she began laughing, cutting me off. "Winter, please, I'm trying to settle… s-s-sett-t-" I am giggling because of her. Stop. Stop. Cinnabar, collect yourself, that is an order. "p-ple-ease-e"

Damn her laughter, I corrupted her. My giggling erupted into full laughing with her, just frustrating Yang more.

" _RRRRGGGg."_ You could feel her ripping her hair out. Well, if it weren't Yang you could. " _Whhyyyy? Why do you do this?"_

I turn to Winter, lowering my voice as yang rants on. "The payoff is going to be amazing. I know exactly when to call Weiss, and we have her answer with her name right in front of Yang, all before she would normally, and we'll hear it over the phone as Yang rips her a new one. Yay future knowledge." I pump my arm.

" _Ruby, you're giving me her number later."_ Yang demands, unaware the conversation is still going to continue.

"She won't get to make Blitz if she does." I quickly throw back into the device.

" _Nope."_ Ruby replies, popping the 'p'. " _You heard her. You'll have to ask whoever this Weiss is to get it."_

"Well, we'll send the schematics and weapons over, just text the address. Treat Eis and Feuer well Rubes. See ya!" I cheerfully say, hanging up.

"Well, get that finished, what's next?" I ask.

"What time is it right now?" Winter questions back.

"If that's not rhetorical, about… One in the afternoon."

"How about a late lunch, then one last training session before we send the weapons out." She says, preparing to leave. She began walking out when I had a thought.

"Sounds good." I reply, getting up myself. "We'll have to find another way to train. Maybe get some bows and try to learn how to use them so we can both shoot the third form. Oh, Winter..." She looks at me, questioning what I had left to say. "Don't tell Ironwood about the change in your weapons. Even if that is against the current orders and such, Cinder gets into Ironwood's network, and had intel on everything. Having secrets like this make it easier to screw her plans up."

"Okay, I… guess I'll try to keep it a secret." Winter answers. I know she dislikes withholding information, but I see she's getting used to it.

"Thanks."

* * *

Bow training is something I'll never go through again. We had to go search for special bows, ones that use the dust mixture we wanted. That took hours of our time. After that, we took turns shooting off the top of the academy. Why? Really, because we have no other place to shoot when we want to hit a target more than a kilometer away without alerting Ironwood.

The bow training is as secret as possible right now, and we're keeping it that way for a while. Our secrets weapons, the Railgun, and the Elemental Bow. The Railgun is known by Ironwood, but not entered in the system as my weapon's second form. Better that way.

Heh, that was a day alright.

We spent a week practicing for the use of Winter's Blitz, and the bow was due back any day now. According to Ruby it's an amazing weapon, and she's excited to see how we implement it. I have plans for Winter and I to duo Team RWBY during semester two. If I can convince Ozpin, I might even get to go on the Mountain Glenn mission. He'll learn, eventually, about my knowledge, and it's better to be on his good side once we begin the tournament.

"I'm horrible with a bow, just downright awful." I comment, the wind from the top of the academy tower blowing my hair into my face. I need to get a useful hairstyle.

Nah.

"Well, you're not the one using it. Fortunately, I am good with a bow." Winter remarks. She lifts the small metal rod, turning a few dials on the side before pulling on the air. Where her finger are pinched, a small arrow of pure lightning forms.

"I have the math correct, I know the force behind it, what angle to hold it at, but somehow the application vs the theoretical, it just won't translate. 35 up, 23 right, maybe 25 if the wind picks back up." I order. My math is good, and checks out. That should be a bull's eye. "At least I'm a good spotter." I add, just as she fires the arrow. Looking through the binoculars, I watch as she hits right on target, nearly five hundred meters away.

"We make a good team." She says. Winter puts the bow on the ground, before sitting down next to me. I drop the long range sight-seers and take another bite out of my food. We decided to have a picnic on top of the tower this time. I was trying to ask her out on a date, and it ended up being very bad, but she still said yes. She then grabbed her bow and brought it up with her, so I think Win is planning something.

She denied it, but I saw the look in her eyes.

"Why don't you try again. I'll help." She pleaded. PLEADED. She almost begged. She had been trying to get me to fire again, but after the first few times, I didn't want to embarrass myself more.

"No."

"Please. I promise I can get you to hit the target. One shot."

I sigh. She is really not going to let this die is she. "Fine, one, ONE, shot." I hold a finger up to add to my point. "But you have to fire my Railgun. I'll charge it, but you have to fire it."

"Deal."

That was answered too fast. Way too fast. Standing up, I grab the bow, and level it with the air. Doing quick mental calculations, and with help of the sensor reading out to my scroll that Winter is reading to me, I aim at the precise spot I needed to. In the background I could see the sun setting and… oh that sneaky wom-

"No, no no no. Look at your arms, they're all wrong. " Winter tells me, pushing herself up against me, using her arms to correct my posture, before grabbing my hands and aiming slightly more to the right.

She's using that trick. This is rom-com levels of cheesy. If I hit the arrow I think I'll break.

I pull back my hand, Winter's hand guiding mine. She's really doing this. She's putting the moves on _me._ I'm the ex-guy, I'm supposed to woo her. I wanted to woo her. I release the arrow.

It hits dead center. Looks like she wooed me instead.

We both remain silent. Say something.

Anything.

Just say anything.

"Holy shit, this is cheesy as hell right now."

You stupid idiot. Winter just giggles.

"Way to ruin the moment Cinnabar." I snark to myself. "It was all nice, sunset, a beautiful woman on your arms, a kiss was probably moments away, and you say that _wonderful_ line. A Plus."

"It's what makes you, you." Winter answers to my rant. She turns to face me. I put my hands on her waist, and push up my feet so I'm eye level.

Dammit kiss her you fool. Just grow a non-existent pair and do it. I lean in, she leans in.

Only to be interrupted by a ringing.

"God fu-" I snap.

"CINNABAR. Not now, and watch the language, we begin the new semester soon and Ironwood wants us to do initiation. Guess what it is?"

"Please humor me James." I whisper to myself. "Okay, what?"

"We get to hunt down the kids. Part of my training for you. We get to chase them across the entire city."

Oh hell yes.


	9. Short 2: The Hunt

**Excite. Saw V4E1, and just to be clear, this will end at V3. The outcome, unknown for all of you, but… there is one.** **This is setup for the next chapter, but it didn't fit into the other one. Hence the Short.**

 **To all my reviewers: Thanks for all the positive support. Without a Beta, my chapters take a little more time to post. I'm very happy you all understand, and please, message me if any errors bug you.**

 **Insert Disclaimer Here: I do not own RWBY. Just Cinnabar. Only her.**

* * *

 **Short #2: The Hunt**

 **Status: Canon, aprox. Two Months in.**

* * *

I'm dressed in a grey long sleeve, and my dress pants. I'm also wearing a black knee-length leather jacket we had laced with rubber to keep my semblance from kicking out on my entire body. Its red highlights seemed to almost glow in the fluorescent lighting of Atlas Academy. Accenting my shirt however, was a deep black scarf. On one end was a white Schnee snowflake, while the other held my full symbol, a red lightning bolt running through an outline of a planet. Earth.

Winter was wearing ice blue dress pants, and a tucked in white long-sleeved dress shirt. Her long-tailed white coat minus the vest flowed down her sides, joining a small sheath. Inside is the fully upgraded weapon we had renamed Impuls. A split second decision, made on a single movement, determining all our fates.

Only fair.

Her hair is in a central ponytail, the floofy bangs on the front still present. One lock had fallen out, curving around her face. She looks attractive, awesome, and threatening at the same time.

Ironwood walks onto a light-brown stage, a deep blue curtain swishing behind him. A microphone pinned to his collar was hooked up to the sound system. He is wearing a long coat version of his usual outfit.

"Here we are. This is the beginning of the hardest educational year for some of you. For most of you, this is just another day of failure."

That's harsh, damn James. As he lets that phrase settle, a small screen extends from the top of the curtain, a picture of Atlas with multiple symbols on it. In the center of the city, Atlas Academy, in all its glory. The students shuffle around, unsettled.

"We accept all who try to apply, but this is your challenge. You must first grab one of each of the designated relics. They are located here, here, and here, and you MUST collect all three," He points to the map, on the north, south, and east borders, each one holding a symbol. "before going to the pick-up point. You must complete this before sundown. You may choose your partners, or you may go solo. You can group up in teams of up to four for all I care. Each person needs to pick up a relic, one cannot count for a whole group. More information is in the small packets you were handed when you walked in. Blah blah blah… "

This is really droning on. Winter glances at me, and I cough lightly. Both of us were behind the curtain, waiting for a signal. The twist the students were not warned about until now.

"Finally, there is one last... thing... you must be worried about." Our cue. We walk out, greeting the shocked looks on their faces. "These two Atlesian Specialists, Ms. Schnee and Ms. Ferrous, will be hunting you down and dueling you. _All of you._ If you do not last for more than five minutes in battle, you will not pass. You now have ten minutes until they're released." He smirks, before reaching for a button on his scroll. I do a casual salute, and Winter gets a dark smile on her face. I have so corrupted her.

Weiss will not react well to that.

"I hope you brought your weapons." I taunt, popping my shields open on my wrists. The onyx black and blood red glint in the lighting of the skyscraper. I pulse my semblance, the deep red electricity arcing across the curved metal pieces.

He hit the button, and the screen changed to a large timer, counting down at 00:09:59.00

00:09:55.00

00:09:50.00

00:09:4-

"Okay, you can go and get them. Fifteen seconds is more than enough you two." Ironwood commands. Even if externally, he held a straight face, internally, he was just as excited to watch on all the cameras he had planted around the city. Hell, most of the students agree to have it televised. It's a national event here, like the Olympics. There's even a betting pool.

He's more like Ozpin than he'd like to admit, isn't he.


	10. Chapter 7: Uptown Hunting

**Chapter 7: The Initiation of Atlas Students ~ An Adventure Beyond the Limits of What Could be Possible in Canon - Post-Relationship Start (feat. Cinnabar and Winter)**

 **Yeah. I did that.**

 **I do want to say, there is another part to this, but I am still working on it. I wanted to get something out now, but having an entire week full of exams killed me last week. I'll try to have the part two by the weekend. Enjoy the horrible battle scene, because I can't write action for crap. Do be prepared to see it updated or changed slightly to make the battle flow better.**

 **All in all, I rate this a C grade chapter, expect it to be updated at a later date.**

 **I do not own RWBY. Just the OCs.**

* * *

I'm standing on the roof of an apartment, the sun still high in the sky. My hair, finally dyed white at the tips and the roots, a very hard process mind you, whipping in the wind around me. Below me the bustling of the streets as the civilians went on with their daily lives, unaware that one of the students is currently among them. Some are no doubt watching Ironwood's stream, hidden cameras placed everywhere… I'm like Batman.

"Well, oh Oracle mine, what do you think of the whole duel in the middle of the marketplace? Fruit flying through the air, cheering civilians, and a battle for the fate of the victor?" I say, holding my finger to my earpiece. No doubt a camouflaged camera flying by, picking up the audio.

I finally get to do something I've always wanted to.

Putting on a fake Aussie accent, I turn my head to the camera behind me. I could feel the electricity pulsing through it, even though it was cloaked. No cloaking tech on Remnant my ass Ironwood.

"Crikey, look at this 'ere fellow," I begin, pointing to the student, nonchalantly walking through the crowd. "Just a natural beeeauty of a student. No clue that we're watching 'im. Let's get a closer look."

I sprint to the edge of the building, and throw myself off, spreading my arms out. Looking down, I activate my semblance, magnetizing myself to the building. Then, I run, letting gravity propel myself to high speeds.

The student, nearly 6'10", beefy as hell, wielding a large broadsword, was somehow slouched over, trying to blend in. Of course, he's all hidden behind a black and silver trench-coat. He's a little tall, but stands out, his grey hair and lightly tanned skin more than enough to spot him in a crowd of people who live in perpetual winter. Seriously, everyone in Atlas is pale, even me.

Shit, he saw me. Still, for a Hunter-in-training he was doing well.

Finally meeting the ground, I deactivate my semblance, the electricity pulsing through me suddenly quitting. Along with it, the magnetic field it was producing lost all force. I jump, using the heavy acceleration from running down the side of a five-story apartment to throw myself forward, sprinting for the previously hidden student.

It's now that I reach into a small pocket on my shirt, pulling out a mobile arena. Basic holographic walls and a shield projector, all stuffed impossibly into a metal rod the size of my fist. Battery lasts about five minutes. I chuck the heavy rod as hard as I can, and smack him on the head.

While I am giving a small commentary to the aforementioned cameras, I see him turn to me, both determination and shock on his face.

Hey, you need to start the duel, the timer is ticking. Shut it, let me think. I'm you you idiot. Don't sass me young lady, why, what if Winter found out about your thoughts of last night? If you even survive this, you're probably barely even skilled with this student, you need more training. No, I am waaayy better that this guy. No, you're really not.

"Are we dueling, or are you waiting for something." The boy asks me, pulling me out of my argument with my own inner monologue.

Well screw you too you big bi-

"Yeah, waiting for your aura to go up. I want you at one hundred percent. That way it's fair." I taunt, lowering my voice. I need to get serious, having yet to actually draw anything.

He, on the other hand, reaches behind himself, pulling out his broadsword shotgun mixed weapon.

'How do I know this?' one may ask.

I read the files given to us by Ironwood. We're to weed out anyone who we think does not fit in the academy and it's morals. First Judgement, pre-relic duel. Next, we perform Second Judgement, the duel after the relics. Final Judgement is the team-making process, and the first year. All those whose first year end badly, are expelled.

"So, we gonna start, or are you stalling for time? Timer doesn't begin until one of us moves." I lie to the tall student. He doesn't need to know.

"Fine," He said back, narrowing his eyes. "we duel. Are you prepared? You have yet to draw."

"Waiting on you, mini-Qrow, I'm just here for the job. But, if you wish..." I accent my point by clicking out my curved shields, but I keep the daggers in their sheaths. For now I'll use martial arts, I need to train on a moving target. I raise my wrists, and hold my hands out in a tight but empty grasp at air. He shifts his feet into a prep for a lunge, hefting his no-doubt heavy sword, which is big for him, the man a foot taller than me, over his right shoulder. With one hand. That thing is going to hurt if it hits me.

* * *

Cinnabar Ferrous, the twenty-one year-old Atlesian Specialist and partner to the infamous "Ice Queen", with dual dagger and martial arts training, a classified semblance, and no background in any academy, vs Sable Argent, a wielder of a BSMS (Buster-Sword Multi-Shotgun), a semblance of personal anti-gravity [1], and a high spot in the recent graduate class of Signal Academy, based out of Vale.

There they stand, face to face, itching to fight. Cinnabar shifts her feet in response to the stance Sable took, and raises her left hand, beckoning him forward. "Well, you're up."

His response is to charge, swinging his massive sharpened blade to her position, using his semblance to speed it up as much as he can.

Cinnabar jump, tucking her legs so the blade passes below her. At the same time she pulls her leg back, preparing a kick. She kicks her leg out, connecting with the flat of the blade, shooting her up with extra force. Using gravity to speed herself up, Cinn pulls her arm back at the top of her arc, planning a punch. Sable, using his swinging weapon's weight as a pivot, turns his body to the side, making her fist connect with his armored shoulder instead.

A small whirring coincides with the transformation of the sword to a shotgun, the blade splitting in two. Using the force of the punch, Sable backs up, preparing to fire his weapon. Cinn pushes herself back, and raises her arms to shield her face.

A slug fires, pinging off her wrist-mounted shields. "Not good enough sadly." She taunts again. It seems she's lowering her voice for some reason.

"Fight me, do not taunt. You are a specialist, are you not?" He recalls, Ironwoods speech still fresh in his mind.

The two meet eyes for just a moment, and she smirks.

"Okay, Hit me again." She feints left, then shifts right. "Or, try to."

Sable growls, and surges forward. Swinging the bisected blade, he lunges for Cinnabar, shouting in annoyance.

She lifts her left arm, using her shielded forearm to shove the blade aside in an impressive display of power, loosening his grip on the sword. Unknown to all but a few, she had poured nearly a third of her aura into the gauntlet to shove the sword away. Her semblance, flaring around her feet, causes a few arcs of red electricity spark, connecting to the ground. She uses the opportunity to get inside Sable's guard, lashing out with two light, but quick, punches. Unprepared for the strikes, he stumbles back, his hold on the sword tightening.

Sable fully recovers his hold sword during the wind-up, and fires. The large sword speeds up, reaching velocities that render the swing to a blur of silver and black. Cinn dropped into a defensive stance, raising her forearms, shielding her head instead of dodging.

The effect was destructive.

The blast of air that follows the arc, combined with the blade and buckshot, all slam into Cinnabar's defenses, shoving her back into a nearby wall still in the area of the holographic arena. Dust and debris follow, creating a small smokescreen, shielding anything behind it from view.

Due to the time she had wasted in the beginning, and the taunting, the time limit for the battle was shorted more than either may have wanted. There was barely a minute left. During this time however, Sable looks quite confused. The specialist had yet to fall to the ground. In fact, she had yet to reappear at all.

Until a darkening above him alerts him to her position. Above the student, the white-tipped specialist fell to the ground torso first, something red around her hands. Sable raises his sword flat side facing her, drops to his knee, and uses both hands to brace the makeshift shield against her attack.

Unfortunately for Cinnabar, a buzzing alerts the both of the duelers that the time limit is up. She flips in the air, her feet now facing the ground. Sable feels a small force against his sword, while Cinn slows down, landing on it with a light tap, before throwing herself off of it, and a few meters away, nearly the same distance as when they started. Relaxing out of the battle stance she had taken, with her daggers now unsheathed, gripped in reverse, she sheaths them into the forearm shields, before those retract as well.

"Well, you survived the first duel. A specialist cannot duel you again until you collect the rest of the relics for Second Judgement." Cinnabar notes, her voice still low, walking forward. She offers her hand, and Sable retracts his weapon as a response. He walks up, eyeing the shields, and shakes her hand.

"Students always wondered what weapons you use. You don't draw them in the public spaces, and they're always hidden in the sheaths. Simple daggers? Unexpected to say the least."

Cinn stares at him for a moment, before smiling. She raises her hand to her face in a futile attempt to stop herself from laughing. Heavily.

"I'm the 'Mysterious Woman' cliche? Oh, man, I… I need to fix that." She fades to a giggling, her voice back in its correct octave, wiping her eyes of any tears that had formed. "The shield gauntlets probably scared the hell out of you guys in the presentation earlier. I'm so sorry. I was totally in 'Frighten the lambs' mode, you know?" She shakes her hands to emphasize her point.

Sable just sat in shock at the sudden change of demeanor in this _militarily-trained_ individual.

* * *

"Y-you are a specialist right?" He asks, confused beyond belief.

"I am. It's my job. You need to enjoy your job, or you begin to hate it. It's why Win and I have contests to scare the students, or hit the farthest target, duel the most people. We need to enjoy ourselves, or we begin to resent our purpose." I wisely advise him. Well, I hope it was wise. I really hope it was wise.

"That's a, way, of looking at it I guess." He responds, seemingly out of words to say. He turns to leave, towards the next relic location.

"Hey, Sable." He looks back at me. "Remember that. It's a job, at the end of everything else. Being a Specialist, a Hunter. It's a job to protect those around you. Whatever reason you may have to get it, it falls behind the people you swore to protect."

"Thank you." I could feel the cameras dispersing. Winter probably began her own duel. Don't expose all your secrets Win.

"No problem mini-Qrow. Oh and one last thing." He turns around again. He knows I know he went to Signal, so might as well make fun of Qrow while I'm at it. "If you see Qrow-prime, tell him his niece is horrible at making bets. I need to collect the lien from Yang soon."

The confusion of his face made the argument with Qrow so worth it.

* * *

 **[1] Semblance: Personal Gravity Field - The ability to influence the strength of gravity around the user, in a very small range. Often used to make the user harder to move, weapons easier or harder to swing, or force the opponent to have off-balance movements with micro-applications against them in a more skilled user's case.**


	11. Chapter 8: Sudden Hot Insertion Tactics

**Well, chapter 8 is here, and we are ready to go full throttle. Of course, by full throttle, I mean a duo duel. More fighting, and more excitement, the battles to come in full force.**

 **Except for Cinn. She's stuck behind shielded arms.**

 **Heh. Anyway, usual disclaimer of I don't own anything except Cinn, and now a few more OCs who have made their way into the story thanks to plot.**

 **Chapter 8: Sudden Hot Insertion Tactics**

* * *

So, it seems Penny has teamed up with Ciel and a third student, whose name I've forgotten at the moment, to get to the relics. The three have gone without any fights so far. Seeing as I can't track Penny anymore they must have sealed her seams, or wires, or whatever. Honestly, I've been looking for her because I wanted to see her potential teammates. I'm dying to know. Who's the rest of her team, seriously? Her and Ciel are the only two of her team I know of. What's the acronym, the color, or the leader, anything?

My girlfriend has been scaring kids all day, popping out of corners, jumping out of shadows. The still feels weird to think, Winter and I are dating, it's only been a couple days. She's been enjoying herself. Most of her duels end in her winning, but that's expected from the specialist. Even with all the training I've done, I'm barely at their level. I would only win if I gave it my all, so I'm choosing people who I can more or less let win. Lot's more psychological than physical.

I'm here for fun. In fact, both of us are. Normally, a bunch of juniors get to do this, the two top teams. It's like their term paper.

Well, I'm stalking the rooftops, lurking above the disguised students, and the civies they're using as meat shields. Just passing the time.

"I need to get Penny to call Ironwood a meatbag. Dust, that would be funny." I note to myself. My eye itches. "Also need to check on that. It's been itching alot."

I may be losing it a little.

"Hey, Cinn, what are you up to?" "Kyaaa!"

I spin around, my coat and hair both whirling with me, to reveal Winter calmly sitting behind me.

Calmly.

Sitting.

BEHIND ME!

Oh, great now she's laughing.

"How long have you been fo- Wait. Did I just?"

"You did… you… you..." She continues laughing, gasping for breath. "You 'Kyaa'-ed, you..." She began laughing harder.

"Winter, please, noooo… " I whine. "I… please, don't bring this up. I'm embarrassed you scared me, don't bring the scream into it."

I waited a few good minutes for the laughing to stop.

"Cinn, you 'Kyaa'-ed. I'm never, never letting this go."

"Win, please." I pout, breaking out the big guns.

The puppy-dog-eyes. Rubes gave me a few pointers, and with the fact that I could pass as an incoming student, I can see it working.

"Fine, I'll let it go." I smile and turn around. "But I'm so getting the footage later from James." She mutters.

"Oh no you're not. Not if I have anything to say about it." I argue.

I am not, NOT, letting her get that footage. I will make sure it's blanked out. No one will ever know of this moment. NO ONE.

"Hey, Winter, do you want to have a duo duel? Two on two? Think you're up for it?"

"Who do you want to duel?" She stands up, drawing Implus.

"How about… Penny and… that kid. Dust, what is her name?"

"Wait, who? Penny and..."

Looking over the edge, I point to the two girls next to Penny. The first was the ever recognizable, weaponless, almost robotic, Ciel Soleil. The second however, is a girl, about the same size as Penny. With pale, almost sickly yellow hair just meeting her shoulders, and a light skin tone, she blended in well with the crowd, not considering the two holstered pistols on her sides.

"Not Ciel Soleil, the other one. Her name keeps escaping me."

"That would be Sienna Ecru."

"Sienna Ecru… Ecru… Ec- oh. Dual Pistols, similar to Ironwoods."

Looking closer at her, she reminds me of a cowgirl. Leather chaps, white, a vest. Seriously, what is fashion?

That coming from me, the gender-bent multi-verse traveler in a long black leather coat trailing to my knees, and a black scarf, of all people.

What a time to be alive.

"Well, what do you think? I have no clue of their fighting prowess with each other."

" _Then we try and find out."_ Winter replied in English.

Oh, that was actually… kinda fluent. Good girl, she finally hit semi-fluency with English. One thing I made sure of was to teach Winter, and Ironwood if possible, English. We thought of it as payment for them teaching me how to fight with my weapons, and the whole… specialist thing.

I become awesome with fighting in multiple ways, they get a language only three people know in all of Remnant, and some… technology that I may have helped the SDC research, like non-dust propulsion. Seems fair, they will go to saving the kingdoms.

I need to drag Win to the test for the first supersonic jet flight. I have been working on making sure the body resembles the Thunderbolt. If I do this in the right time, they should have the first fully working prototypes just in time for the Breach.

Back on target.

" _Wow, you managed to make it fluent. You may just have this down soon."_ I say, poking her face. " _Now, shall we challenge the two?"_

" _Yes."_

* * *

As the three girls are making their way to the relic, hidden in the crowd, Winter and Cinnabar follow.

That is, until Penny suddenly ran.

The crowd immediately parts thanks to two glyphs, and Penny halts, struggling to run forward, her backpack seemingly holding her back.

Two figures walk forward through the crowd, who was now collectively holding their breath in anticipation.

"Penny Polendina, Sienna Ecru." A high-pitched voice echos. "Dual duel?"

Penny spins around to find both her friend and a superior officer smirking next to each other.

"Two on two? Work as a team to bring us down?" Winter remarks, holding out her hand as if to shake it. Cinnabar reaches back behind her back, pulling out the mobile arena, she shifts right, studying the surroundings as if already planning a takedown.

Sienna turns to Penny, pistols drawn. "So pseudo-partner, what do we do to win?" Her voice holds a southern Valic drawl to it.

Penny restates the question to Winter, while Cinn was busy talking with civilians, trying to have them back up a little further.

"You must only last three minutes, as me and my partner here are, while not synced up, still used to fighting in a battle bigger than a one on one, while you are not. Only one of you needs to last the limit, while both will pass. Does that seem fair?"

Penny thinks for a few moments. Cinnabar paces in anticipation. "Yes." She finally replies. "It seems fair to me."

"Okay, well, taking too long. I'm getting a little jumpy." Cinn interrupts the polite conversation. "We doing this or…"

Winter placed her hand on her sabre. "Yes, we are."

"Awesome." She hit a button on the arena, and the fight immediately began.

* * *

Shots ring out as Sienna fires directly towards me. I flick my wrists, forming two small shield-gauntlets. At the same time, Winter speeds forward, a trail of glyphs leading straight to Penny. The two meet in sparks, Penny's swords floating behind her.

" _Damn, those look cool in real life. Remember, they need to win. Play your skills down Winter."_ I shout in English.

" _Yeah, you already mentioned that. We're almost thirty seconds in already, you still need to attack."_

Both girls look at us weirdly, probably wondering what were speaking.

" _I'll continue distracting Sienna."_ I shout, before muttering, " _like Wonder-Woman or something."_ She just continues shooting at me, while I deflect most of the bullets, the rest grazing by me. " _Seriously, when do you reload, this is so stupid! How many bullets to you have! Is this your semblance? Infinite bullets?"_

I can feel sparks connecting me to the ground, reaching out to the piping below me. I try and alter the magnetic field as much as I can around her.

A clicking sound is the only notice I succeeded.

Running forward at Sienna, I watch her shift to a combat stance similar to the one Winter had taught me. I draw a single dagger while running as a response. She leans back, preparing a kick, and I lunge forward, holding the dagger like a sword in my left hand.

Boot meets blade.

We fight for dominance, before I gain control and push her back. She tucks, spinning her pistols as small serrated blades below the barrels extend to similarly sized daggers.

A knife fight it is.

I draw the second half of Pinfire, before spinning them both into reverse hold. She grips the handles of her dagger-pistols, before stepping into stance. My eye itches again, and I instinctively rub it.

" _Stop trying to make it dramatic, and fight her Cinn!"_ Winter cries through her intense battle with Penny.

" _My stupid eyes are itching. I already lost the drama."_

A green laser cuts the air between us as we prep to fight. Both of us glare at Penny. We want the same thing. A solo duel.

Maybe the whole… work as a team thing should happen later.

Through all of this, only one minute has passed.

Turning my head to face Ecru again, I smirk. She smirks back. We rush forwards together, meeting each other in a shower of sparks and clinking. I loosen my grip on the left, using the force of her right to spin me to the side. Aiming for a roundhouse, I kick my leg out. She sees this and responds with a quick leap back. I charge forward again, aiming my left for a high slash, while aiming my right dagger for a low slash. She meets both daggers with her own, using her strength to try and push me back. Step by step, I lessen my strength in my legs, letting her push me by a wall.

As she takes a step, I press a button on my knives, extending them into the railgun form. When not connected they can be used as batons. The small gaps appearing in the batons trap her blades, as I yank them to me.

The disarming did not go as planned.

Instead of fighting, Sienna let herself be pulled with them, before twisting her arm in a way that would make the blade hit me. I do the only thing I can, and jump, immediately forcing myself to magnetize to the wall.

Who ever said battles had to be on the ground?

I lean back, using my spine as a secondary connector to the wall, reflecting her bullets back at her best I can. We seem to be back at the beginning of the battle.

Just as I was about to release my hold on the wall, the arena buzzes, telling us time is up. I stand up, or… out? I guess. Still on the wall, but standing, parallel to the ground.

"So." I say, looking at Winter. "I need a ranged weapon. I can't sit deflecting bullets like that all day next time. It won't work well."

Winter snorts, while the students look at me like I'm insane.

I concur. Walking to the ground, I release my hold, the telltale lines of red electricity arcing off my feet vanishing. Winter rounds up the students, and begins talking, probably explaining what is happening next. The crowd disperses, and I lean against the wall, just out of earshot.

Winter looks at Penny, and Ciel, who sat on the sidelines patiently, and begins to explain the next step they need to take. Sienna says something to Penny, who nods. Then, Sienna walks up to me.

She leans against the wall, before sliding down, and sighing. "What is your semblance? I saw you do too many things for it to be anything I could think of."

I slide down next to her, and hold out my hands. "It's classified, that's how powerful. If I was allowed, I could probably beat Winter, despite barely being a specialist. Just due to pure firepower." She looks surprised, but a little sad. "Between the two of us though… and keep it a secret, ok? Between the two of us, it's Electromastery."

She gives me a confused look. My eye itches again, I rub it.

"I am able to produce, direct, and control electricity."

"Nice, but the wall walking, and the gun jammin', how?" She questions.

"Oh, you people think too small. I can control electricity. If so, that means I can control the E Fields around objects." She nods. "One thing that relates heavily to an E Field is a B Field. Magnetism. This is why I'm so powerful. I have a more minor control over all magnets, along with full control to electricity. I'm able to magnetize myself to the walls, and make it so the bullets in your gun misfire using constant manipulation of the fields to heat up the metal and expand the bullets. With some creativity, I can use my two batons as rails, and fire a projectile at nearly Mach 3."

She looks at me in awe.

"It's why I don't have much skill in fighting. I can almost always one-shot my opponents, but all means are deadly. I'm one of the most powerful people on this planet, and I'm only twenty-two." I chuckle to myself, before coming to a horrifying realization. "Oh, oh dust, I'm giving a world of cardboard speech."

Sienna smiles, confused, but that awe never leaves her eyes. She sighs, before saying something. "Well, it's a good thing you fight for what's good, not wrong. That's why I want to be a huntress. Protect the weak, help the strong, have fun along the way, right?" She stands up, before reaching out her hand. I take it, and she pulls me up. Sienna, although looking sickly, is extremely strong. How dense are her muscles?

"You know, I think you would get along well with a friend of mine. I'll make sure to introduce the two of you at a later date."

Winter shouts at the two of us. "Sienna, your friends are leaving. Cinn, we're being called back. Initiations over for now."

"'Kay." I Quickly exchange numbers with Sienna, before she runs to catch up with the leaving duo. I turn to Winter. "Well, where to now?"

"You said you needed a ranged weapon right? We need to design one, since you didn't get one by the 'O So Great Multi-verse' this time."

"Great, thanks for that sarcasm." I snark. "I'm thinking about a rifle-staff. What do you think?"

Winter smiles, and starts walking away. "I think you'll have to call Rubes. She would get a kick out of it."


	12. Short 3: For Our Eyes Only

**Short #3: For Our Eyes Only**

 **Status: Canon, aprox. Five Days in.**

* * *

General James Ironwood's office was sparkling clean as he sat as his desk. Near the front of the room, a ding reminded him of why he was here.

"James, I… I need you to start on a few research projects for me. Did you receive the E-mail I sent?" His new specialist asked.

Cinnabar A. Ferrous, a village-raised, huntress-level combatant who was accepted as the youngest recruit to the military's program yet.

Well, that's what her file said. What wasn't black ink anyway.

The truth was much more… dangerous.

"Yes, although I couldn't understand it. What do you need, Ms. Ferrous?"

"Give me access to the scroll port real quick, and you'll see. I coded the encryption myself, based off a separate OS, off a device I have with me that… anyway… Its plans for a few things you may want for future use."

"What exactly?" He asked as she pushed her scroll into the port. Immediately, schematics, plans, mathematics formulas, and other files popped up on the screen.

"A project I've been working on the past week, called the 'Thunderbolt III'. It's a fighter-jet capable of supersonic flight, a small, two person cockpit, tilt-able jet engines, a 30 mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun, **(GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling Gun. Look it up, it's crazy big. Imagine what that would do with Dust propulsion and Dust payloads.)** 12,000 lbs of blast explosives, guided missiles with laser designation. And I need it by the Breach."

"And how, exactly, do you propose such a thing to work?" He asked, eyeing the files on the screen.

"Because I have schematics, chem-work, projected costs, and most of the information you'll ever need. You just need to build it. It was early planning for my grad project. Have your guys work on it, get a prototype up and running soon. We may need it."

"I'll look into it. Anything else?"

"Two things: One, the SDC will take care of weapon developments. Winter has already called contacts, and the project was blacklisted, white-listed, and removed from even her father's eyes. _She_ doesn't even know what I'm having them develop."

He nodded. His men should be able to design what she has in mind if she has that much done already.

"Two, Remove all traces of it. No internet access, no CCT access, nothing. No one can access these files without the correct cypher, this needs to be classified beyond top secret, above the eyes of even the councils. This is a very dangerous machine, and if even one part of it fell into the enemy's hands, it could be reverse engineered. We do not want that. Compartmentalize parts, the frame, the wings, the jets, the armor, all separate groups, little contact to each other, that don't know what they are building. The only people who know exactly what we're building are you, and me. Not even Winter, my partner, knows about the final goal of this project. The SDC is told to contact me for questions, comments, and any help they may need."

James whistled. If everything she plans is true, this could take out a full warship in one on one combat.

"Well, the first flyable prototype for the aircraft alone should be ready in a little more than a month. Minus the guns of course."

"I'll get the estimated weight so you can add ballast. Tell them to call my scroll if they need any help. Oh, and one last thing. Find and track Blake Belladonna, get her scroll number, and give her a full pardon when the train robbery concludes. It should help us a lot."

Ironwood sighed, and leaned back. "Will do Cinnabar. I'm trusting you."

"And I'm trusting you with tech that works in space, and can down Atlesian warships with ease. This _will_ change the world, James. Thank you. It could mean the safety of Vale, of Remnant, if done correctly."

James just nodded, and sighed one more time as she left. This will take a lot of work to keep under wraps, and could backfire horribly.

* * *

 **Why did I add this? Well, Remnant seems to not be able to do super fast flights, and I planned this from nearly the beginning. Remember, the prototype for the flyable _FRAME_ is what could be completed in a little over a month. The weapons, balancing due to the weapons, and the armoring, all that will take more time. This is the base minimum time to make it flyable.**

 **Cinnabar needs an army. If they don't have what she needs, she'll do anything to get it. She's determined to get it.**


	13. Chapter 9: That's Not Good

**Chapter 9, post-initiation, design of a new weapon that Cinn needs (read: wants). Sorry for the waiting you all went through.**

 **So, here's that apology chapter for those who waited for so long. And, uh…. Yeah. This will be a doozy. Lots of plot coming through soon.**

 **I only own Cinn, Sienna, and Sable. Those three OCs are mine. EVERYTHING ELSE IS RoosterTeeth's.**

 **Chapter 9: That's Not Good**

* * *

 **Days before Initiation of Atlas Students  
** **Approx. 1.8 Months in.**

* * *

I'm sitting in bed, having just finished cleaning the apartment. Initiation is in a few days, and Winter just got Impuls back. The day was, overall, calm but eventful.

My train of thought is interrupted by my scroll buzzing. I pick it up, unsure of what could be happening to call me at this hour.

"Cinnabar, it's James. Two hours ago, a Schnee train shipment was robbed by the White Fang. We recovered the passengers, and located Ms. Belladonna as you had requested. She has been sent to a safe-house in Vale and pardoned. Ozpin has her files, and is looking to add her to Beacon. I hope you know what you're doing."

So do I James. So do I.

* * *

 **One day after Initiation of Atlas Academy  
** **Approx. 2.1 Months in.**

* * *

Ruby is sitting inside her house watching TV. Yang, next to her, and her dad, Taiyang Xaio-Long, at the end of the couch. It's dark out, and for One in the morning, it should be. Why we're all three up so late? All three are watching the news, unable to sleep after Ozpin had called, at 11:30 PM congratulating Ruby for her entrance to Beacon.

Suddenly, the screen bursts into static. It lasts for a moment, before continuing to show the program. After a few minutes, the screen bursts into static again. This time, a message fizzles through the static.

"Ruby Rose, answer your scroll. I've been trying to contact you." Accompanying it was a small red lightning-bolt symbol.

All three stare at the static screen, before it changes back to the news. Mouths open, eyes stare, and through it all, Ruby laughs.

"She would. Only her." She gets through the deep laugh.

Yang sat in silence, before composing herself. "Was that… was that _her_."

Taiyang was still in silence. He had no clue what was going on. Glancing between his daughters, the flabbergasted Yang, and the insanely laughing Ruby, his only action is to sigh.

"Anyone going to tell me what's going on?"

The TV buzzes again, as does Ruby's scroll. This time, her scroll echoes a voice. "Ruby, pick up the phone. It regards another upgrade."

Tai sits in the background, confused as ever. "Phone?"

"Ooohh, what about an upgrade?" Ruby asks. "Wait, where is my Scroll?" A puff of rose petals wafts in the air as she vanishes from sight.

Taiyang sighs again, before holding it out to the blur racing throughout the two-story house. Ruby quickly notices, grabs it, then sits down.

The TV starts to focus, static fizzling to a shape. A woman that looks like she's in the late teens, red hair with white roots and tips, and red, bloodshot eyes. One twitches before she rubs it. Her coat, black leather with red highlights, sits on her loosely. Underneath the coat, red and grey can be seen.

She's sitting on a couch, her left arm raised towards the camera, red electricity arcing off it. Around her is a normal apartment, and another woman walking behind her, with white hair and an Atlesian military uniform.

"What are you doing?" The white haired woman asks the crimson headed girl.

"Calling Rubes like you said I should." The higher pitched voice answers, her face concentrating on the TV.

"No but, how?"

"I told you, my semblance is bullshit when it comes to electronics."

Yang's mouth opens further, if possible.

"Wait, Cinnabar? How are you doing… this?" Yang shouts as she gestures to the screen.

Both looks at the screen simultaneously. ""Classified."" They glance at each other before chuckling.

"Excuse me, but, who exactly are you, and why do both my daughters know you?" Taiyang questions.

"Oh, hahaha," The red one, Cinnabar, Yang called her, nervously laughs. Yang smiles, and Ruby shakes in her seat. "Right. Well, introductions. Let me just..." Her arm flares up in a huge bolt of electricity. "There we go, lock the…should be stable." She mumbles. The girl jumps up and poses, joyfully. "Role call: Ci-"

"Don't." The white haired woman scolds, pushing her back down.

She pouts. "Fine spoilsport, see if I care about what you want later." She sighs, before gesturing to herself. "My name is Cinnabar Ferrous. I'm a huntress, and an Atlesian Specialist, partner to-" Cinnabar trails off, pointing to the ivory-haired lady next to her.

The white haired woman sighs and picks up where she left off. "Winter Schnee, huntress and Atlesian Specialist."

Taiyang was still confused. "Wait, Cinnabar-"

"Please call me Cinn, my full name sounds too formal."

"Cinn, how do you know my daughters?"

"Remember that story Qrow most likely told you of the girl who fell from the ceiling, before completely climbing up the side of the skyscraper to Ironwood's office to wave. Before she fell. All during a pretty big mental breakdown of self-realization and an identity cri-" Winter pokes her a few times, and Cinn frowns for a moment. "Well, anyway, that was me. I met Rubes during that field trip, and Yang saw me, like, once. We made a bet. You owe me Xaio-Long, don't you?" She rubs her eyes. "Stupid eyes."

"Looks like you need to take out the contacts. And, why are you contacting my daughters?"

"Contacts? I'm not wearing- Well, anyway, I needed Ruby for this. Ruby," Cinn turns her head towards the reaper. "I wanted help with a new project. Something long range, I'm thinking a staff-sniper. High caliber, bolt action, anti-material like Crescent Rose." Ruby's scroll buzzes. "I sent you the plans, and, for coloring, let's try silver and black. I've even got a name. We'll be paying you of course."

Tai breaks in. "Are you asking my daughter to do…blacksmithing?"

"She has before, and Impuls works like a charm. Poor guys, never knew what hit them." Cinnabar answers. "Explosive dust arrows, a math genius-" Winter lightly punches her arm, "and a great archer. Five-hundred meters. It… was glorious. All thanks to Rubbles there."

Ruby, for her part, is blushing. She pulls her scroll open, and looks over the plans. "Ooh, looks nice, what's it gonna be named?"

"How about… _Requiem_?"

" _Requiem?_ What does that mean? _That didn't translate._ " Winter asks.

"Oh, I said that in… never mind. You're right, I guess no word really translates… uh, okay. It means 'in remembrance of something'. That's the best translation I can give." Cinnabar responds, rubbing her eye again.

"Sounds cool. When do you need it?" Ruby inquires.

"By your initiation at Beacon." Ruby nods.

"How did you know that Ruby was accepted to Beacon. Not even her friends know that. It only happened yesterday." Taiyang asks, scowling. He notes to look at Ozpin's files on her.

"Wait, it happened already? Winter, call James, ask about Blake again. I think this is earlier than it was supposed to be. How did it go down?" She addresses the question to Ruby.

"Ozpin contacted dad, and told him that my scores were past a proving point for Beacon, and would be happy to have me in early, as Yang was already attending. Why?" Cinnabar gives off an aura of pure fear.

"You didn't stop anything? No robberies or plots?" Ruby confirms. " _Shit, Winter, something is going on that I don't like. The timeline seems out of whack. The field trip to Atlas by Signal, the fact you and Qrow weren't at each other's throats, I mean, you dislike each other, but you work together. Now we have Ruby's early admittance. Someone is playing with the timeline, and it's not me._ If this keeps happening, we can't know what to expect."

"What were you two speaking just now? I've heard Qrow-"

Cinn's eyes spark at that comment, and her face twists more. "I'm coming to Beacon, I'll meet you there in a few hours. I have a dorm so you can stay for the next few days. _Winter, ask Qrow to grab Blake, warn her of the change in plans, and bring her to Beacon. I've been tracking the White Fang. This is no coincidence. The train robbery was recent, I had Ironwood keep an eye on Blake and contact her, giving a full pardon and a room in Vale in exchange for applying to Beacon. Then, call your father, and tell him to have Weiss wait at the the air-pad. I'll pick her up in a bit, and bring her there."_

" _How?"_ Winter asks back in English. Cinn ignores the question.

" _Someone else is planning something, and they know what's going on too. Team RWBY needs to meet early, and I'll tell them some of the timeline. I'll also talk to Oz face to face, and convince him to make them a team._ First, Taiyang, you need to contact Ozpin. Tell him an Atlesian Specialist is dropping by, mention my name. Qrow should have told him about me. Ruby, you have full access to the forge at Beacon for any work you may need, costs covered. And head to Beacon Academy right now. Again, we'll meet you there with a few extra people, and explain more then." He stares at the screen. "Go, this is urgent!" Cinnabar remarks.

"Why? And what are you saying?" There's no answer, as the screen flickers again to static, before the news continues.

"In other news, the criminal Roman Torchwick has pulled off yet another robbery, shown here on cameras. If anyone ha-" The TV shuts off with a click of a remote, and Ruby rushes off to prepare plans for _Requiem_ for her favorite specialist, along with a bag for the trip. Yang sits for a moment, before excusing herself to prepare her own bag.

Tai sat just wondering what his daughters may have gotten into that requires specialists and secrets.

* * *

Ozpin is in his office, looking through proposed student files, when his scroll rang.

Interesting. He could list the number of people who knew his number on one hand. None calling now could be good. He picks it up and looks at the contact info, before answering it.

"Hello, Professor Ozpin, it's Tai. I just finished a… call… with someone who is bringing a few students to you soon. She, Cinnabar Ferrous, said that she would like to talk to you. I am, apparently, supposed to bring the girls to Beacon. Your thoughts?"

He sat in contemplation. Ferrous? That's something he hadn't heard in awhile. Wasn't it Sch- no matter.

"Do it, and give her my number. She is one of the few I trust."

"Thanks, that helps more than you'd believe." Taiyang Xaio-Long then hangs up, most likely rushing his kids to the airship for a late night ride to Vale. Ozpin just looks out to the city before him, and takes a sip from his mug.

"Ferrous? Cas, what are you planning?"

* * *

An alarm is going off. Great. Blake has begun another day in the Vale safe-house given to her. It wasn't what she was expecting, but a small one bed apartment was better than what she was going to get on the run. Especially with the needed protection. Blake had left the White Fang, and was definitely on their kill list. She has kept her skills up the last few days, and had applied to Beacon Academy as per her rules for the accepting the pardon.

She still doesn't understand what's with _that._ Why would she, an ex-member of the White Fang, go to Beacon as _payment_ for a pardon of all crimes, and being given a place to live.

As she blinks her eyes, she notices a few things. Mainly, it's about 2:45 AM, and she's only been sleeping for a few hours.

Why is her scroll going off?

She finds out thanks to a knocking on her door, which pulls her attention. She walks up to the door, and waits a moment before hearing a voice on the other side.

"I'm here to pick up the food that was ordered." It was gruff, male. Sounds like he's had battle training. Most interestingly, that was a prompt. One of the ones she was told to listen for.

"Oh, take-out?" She answers, like she had been told to.

"Nah, drop-off, for the school."

A seemingly normal conversation, but how he had answered the prompt told her two things. Blake is leaving, and it's to go to Beacon. Something is wrong. She reaches to open the door, when the voice spoke one more time.

"It's probably permanent, so pack. I'll wait at the air-pad."

Something is very wrong.

* * *

There it sits, in all its glory. The secret I've had been holding all this time. My project that only a few dozen will ever know about until it's completely done.

The A-10 Thunderbolt III:

Burn dust propulsion, supersonic capable flight, twin tilt-jet turbines, a two-person cockpit, and various other edits to the original Warthog.

The prototype is weaponless, but like that matters right now. I approach the beautiful war machine in a full flight suit, another in my hands for Weiss.

This is only its second real flight. The first was overwhelmingly successful, but only a few know that. I was the test pilot, and only five scientists knew of its development, let alone that it works.

It's time to pick up Weiss Schnee, and I'm going to do it in style.

I climb in the cockpit, the back seat, where the pilot sits. The gunner, at the moment, works as a passenger due to the missing payload. That won't be true for long. The SDC contacted me, telling me that in the next five months, the Gatling gun specs would be able to be put on anything, with any of the 30 mm round types as ammo.

Ruby will be obsessing over this thing when I show it to her.

I itch my eye before pulling on the helmet. As I turn on the power, and begin pre-flight checks, a beep from my goggles alerts me to something. I look around the HUD my goggles are displaying, giving me data like jet position, damage reports, weight, drag, and wind speed. Most read zero at the moment. An error message at the top confused me.

The message read 'Error, Battle Contacts on person, please remove.'

The hell are battle contacts. I already told Tai, I do-

I reach into my itchy eye, and put my finger on it. I haven't worn contacts in a few years, but I have put them on as a trial in my past life. I them proceed to pull contacts off.

Instant relief from my itchy eye. Dry eyes from extended use of a pair of contacts! Oh, of course, _that_ was the issue.

When did those get put in? Have I been wearing those for nearly _two months_? I look at the contacts as the pre-flight checks finish. They have a red-ish ring around a small area.

In fact, that red is very familiar.

It's the one I see every day in the mirror.

If those are the red coloring on my eyes, what's the color of my irises? Darker colors leak through, and the only color I can think of that wouldn't leak through or clash is… not a conclusion I want to come to.

I slowly reach for a dagger, before unsheathing it and looking into the polished blade. The reflection held one change I wish I'd never have known about.

"There's two. Rubes…

and _me._ "

I have silver eyes.

Shit. Don't freak out, don't freak out. Just, break down later, you need to pick up Weiss, just move on. In fact, let's just put it out of mind right now. Address it later. You have red eyes. You have red eyes. You have sil- RED EYES.

I shakily flick a few switches, and listen to the purring of the turbines as the doors to the plane's hangar open. Calms me down a little.

Although the Thunderbolt III is capable of VTOL, we keep it locked in to keep eyes off the secret vehicle. The computer we hooked up to the thrust monitors and other devices, to keep the jet working under a novice pilot like me, re-guides me through the tutorial, before releasing the stick. I slowly move out the hanger, and begin tilting the rear jets. The plane leaves the ground as I fully exit the storage building, and begins to rise further and further into the sky.

The programming takes over, and a GPS puts a way-point at Schnee manor with distance and height of the pad displayed on the side. Focus on flying, nothing else matters right now.

I breathe in deep, and let it out slowly. Leveling the jet, I push up a few of the levers on a touchscreen, slowly moving the two turbines slightly less than parallel to the ground, and the jet moves forward.

* * *

Weiss isn't sure why she's at the air-pad. Apparently, Winter's partner was picking her up and bringing her to Beacon for a surprise meeting with the headmaster. She was told to pack for a night or two, but bring a way to buy more. She brought a pack of clothes with her. Okay, more like a suitcase. Or two.

Her father is with her, probably to ask why the whole meeting was happening in the first place, why he was disrupted, what is happening to his heiress, etc.

Not to see off his daughter, whom is leaving for almost a whole year.

She isn't sure how she's going to get there, but as a roaring fills her ears, Weiss can safely say that this is definitely not what she expected. All the people currently at the airpad look at the descending noise. An aircraft with tilt-jet turbines on its rear, hovering almost one hundred meters above the landing pad, makes its presence known as it loudly descends. It's small, probably no more than two people able to fit on it with its size looks, but something just seems missing from it.

As the jet touches the ground, the glass on the nose hisses. The jet starts to power down, and the cockpit lifts up an inch, before rolling backwards. A young woman in a jumpsuit and a helmet sits down on the edge of the metal, before jumping down onto the ground.

"I assume that must be Winter's partner. Weiss?" Jacques comments.

"Yes, although I never met her, this is what she had described." Weiss answers. The woman removes the helmet, revealing dark crimson hair with white-dyed tips. Silver eyes met the ice blue Schnees, and a moment of silence passes.

"So, Weiss, I need you to get changed." Her high pitched voice commands.

* * *

Wow, feeling the… confusion? "So, Weiss, I need you to get changed."

No answer. Just Papa Schnee and Weiss looking at me like I'm crazy.

"Into…" Weiss trails off. Oh. Right. I hold out the flight-suit.

"Flight-suit, the Thunderbolt's seats aren't meant for, well, passengers. It's meant for a co-pilot, but luckily for you, I know my way around it like the back of… a hand. Not mine specifically, just a hand."

Questioning looks, discomfort, angry Papa Schnee, good job Cinn, really making them like you.

I hold out my hand to the gentleman in the back, who matches the description of a one Jacques Schnee, CEO of the SDC. "Hello, I am so sorry to bother you, but an emergency meeting involving Ms. Schnee and a few other students is taking place. I was sent here to personally escort her to Beacon. She will be absent for either a few days, or until the end of the semester, depending on her next few decisions."

"What is the meeting about, if I may inquire?" Jacques asks. He's good.

"Well, from what's actually declassified, I can say it will go down in history as a significant moment for both Vale, and Remnant." At the looks from the two, I clarify a little further. "Nothing truly bad, I assure you. She is being offered an extended training with our best," Not a lie, technically, "as a member of the brightest team in the history of Beacon." Hopefully.

"Will I be the leader?" Oh… Weiss, you had to ask didn't you.

"Weiss is, by choice of the leader, second-in-command. The leader is, while on the younger side, undoubtedly smart and gifted." That's going to get me flak from both Rubes and Weiss. Probably Yang to- oh god the bet and the Weiss jokes to Yang are so going to play out bad now. That really won't end well.

Wait…Idea. Oh, that actually might help.

"That's not acceptable. My daughter-"

"Is a force to be reckoned with Mr. Schnee, but do know that sometimes being the leader isn't the best position for someone." I look at Weiss, who, while not steaming, is definitely mad about it. "Personally, I would love to hear her opinion on the matter. It is her choice to go here, is it not?" Hope I didn't go too far with that. I don't know how possessive Jacques is about _his heiress_.

"I will decide after meeting the leader in question." Good girl. Not a no, but still pleasing daddy.

Politics.

"Well, Ms. Schnee, the faster you change, the faster the decision can be made." I hand her the outfit. Weiss quickly leaves.

"A special team? I've not heard of anything with the other headmasters."

"It is heavily classified. Not even my superior knows about. Only me, your daughters, and the other members, along with Headmaster Ozpin himself." I kindly retort. Sadly, I don't work as a socialite. I think.

"Very well. I must leave, I am an important man after all, I have many things to do."

He walks off, leaving me alone. I wait for a few minutes, before Weiss comes out. "Everything all set to go?"

"Yes, Weiss, but you need to let your hair down. They ponytail won't fit with a flight helmet." I toss her the helmet, and she undoes her hair, before putting it on. "If you have any questions, get in the jet and ask. You're cleared for most of it."


	14. READ AUTHOR'S NOTE

**THIS IS URGENT.**

 **An Update!?**

 **No, not exactly. I wanted to let anyone still following this know that I have been reworking the entire story heavily. Semblance and Weapon changes, plot shifts, and longer chapters. The only thing is that Vol. 5 is still releasing for a bit, and so on. I do have a plan to release this story, though it may not be for a while, and it will be nearly completed when I do. A large chapter dump.**

 **Sorry for the ever so long wait, and I'll continue to update when I can. To keep you readers interested, I do have a small teaser for you.**

* * *

"I have a job for you pretty boy."

Damn that woman. Now? NOW? I just woke up. I have spent a week in your little coffee shop purgatory, and you let me do nothing but sit and sleep in the booth, what do you want now? You have taken my life, my home, and fogged up my memories to the point that I can barely remember the names of my family members, what more could you possibly need!

"I have an issue on one of my administrated worlds. I need you to go down and fix it."

I blinked twice.

"I'm sorry, you want me to what? No, no I'm not doing something for you. You ruined my life."

The girl (Girl? Goddess? Entity?) smiled. It was a sweet smile, the likes used by those who desire something you own. I didn't really like it. "I _want_ you to fix this issue."

"Uhhhgg, why me?" She refused to answer, and I tried my best to glare at her. It wasn't working. Why did I have to be dragged into this, why couldn't I die like a normal person. Did I need to have some sort of superpower in my life, something that made me 'stand out among my fellow man'.

"The world is broken. There exists an anomaly somewhere that I cannot identify. As I am unable to go down and fix the issue personally, I needed someone to do it for me. I chose you. As a stable anomaly, your very presence will re-code it, fix it. Not to mention how your little power will help." She took a sip from the china cup filled with coffee, never breaking the eye contact. The scenery around our little Cafe of Hell continued to shift.

"But-"

"Alex." Sharp. Sudden. Hard. That wasn't how she talked. Not normally. I had already known her for a week or so, and this was something new. She may speak politely, but she was never cold about it. "I already told you that your very soul holds a power, one so _wrong,_ that if revealed, it would force the Others to make me kill you. You do not get affected by _Fate_. The very binding force of the universe, it should not, cannot, be broken. You, however, have the ability to Cut the Red Strings, to neutralize Fixed Points in Time, alter reality to your will. And you got it by a fluke.

The world has never seen a Fatebreaker live longer than a month before discovery and execution. Do this, and I will pull as many strings as I can to keep you alive."

I hung my head. That wan't the first time we had had that conversation either.

"Fine, what could you possibly want, Oh Benevolent Goddess of Mine?"

She brought up her hand...

"That will come in time. You will receive little to no assistance from me beyond this world."

...her middle finger pressed against her thumb, building pressure...

"One last thing. You'll need a disguise. I, for one, am happy to help."

...and her thumb moved. I would have heard the snap had I still been in the same area as her, but the 'Void Between' is not located within 'Space-Time'. I had already been moved to what would become my new home universe.

Not that I would be excited about it.


End file.
